


Can't Get it Up if the Android's Breathing?

by ilovemiax



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Established Relationship, Fuck Or Die, Hank is a Good Dad, Kidnapping, M/M, Nines centric, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Rape/Non-con Elements, Tags will be updated as the fic continues, Torture, Whump, androids have interchangeable genitalia, but he deviates later don't worry, machine!RK900, medieval torture methods, no beta we die like men, the only ship here is reed900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-09-13 01:23:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovemiax/pseuds/ilovemiax
Summary: Hank, Connor, Gavin, and Nines are kidnapped and find themselves at the mercy of a violent psychopath.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all I'm giving you a warning now. This is not a happy fic and it'll all going to be some fucked up shit. I'll update tags and put chapter warnings but y'all clicked the link so don't be mad if you read something you don't like.
> 
> Also, most of this story is told from Nines/Gavin perspectives.
> 
> Chapter warnings: swearing, implied torture
> 
> Enjoy!

The tensions were high in the DPD and not because of any grizzly case that was taking its toll on the officers but because of Hank’s mood. The Lieutenant was in a particularly foul mood and was jabbing at his keyboard like it was a suspect who murdered an innocent. Even Connor’s bubbly self couldn’t bring Hank out of his bad mood.

“Steer clear,” Ben muttered to Tina as she walked in with a box of doughnuts for the precinct. “The lieutenant is pissed.”

Of course Tina had to ask, “Why?” She kept her voice soft knowing that angering Hank was not the best course of action.

Ben shrugged, “I think it’s got something to do with-” he nodded his head toward the empty desks belonging to Gavin and Nines. While it was purely speculation, it was the most likely explanation. Even Connor dragging Hank out of bed every morning and forcing him to come to work on time, forcing him to eat right and exercise, nothing had ever set Hank in a bad mood like that. Not even Gavin with his shitty banter and Hank being a washed up old man or even Nines getting too rough with a suspect. No, this mood was something  _ far  _ different. This was the mood of an overprotective father when one of his sons is up to no good.

Gavin and Nines’ relationship wasn’t really a secret but they kept it purely professional at work (Nines was not about to jeopardize their careers no matter how many times Gavin had asked to fuck him in the bathroom, evidence locker, interrogation rooms, etc.) and HR didn’t get involved. Nines, being Connor’s successor and subsequently dubbed his younger brother, was immediately taken in by Hank.

It wasn’t long after that, that Nines was hired by DPD and then partnered with Gavin much to the volatile detective’s annoyance. After a couple months of swearing and insults their relationship shifted. No one was actually sure when it happened but soon Gavin’s swearing and insults became fond and had no real bite behind them.  _ Then  _ the relationship started.

Hank surprisingly didn’t have a problem with Gavin and Nines dating. He’d seen Gavin change from being an android-hater to being pro-android and felt that Nines’ brash personality perfectly matched Gavin’s. However, it didn’t stop Hank from threatening to “tear Gavin a new one” if he hurt Nines.

Most partners had the same days off it wasn’t a surprise when Gavin and Nines had the same shifts. The problem was that Hank and Connor also happened to share the same days off and thus the four spent more time together outside of work as well. And this lead to the precinct’s current problem. Hank and Connor had been working on a case that required them to come in on their day off leaving Gavin and Nines alone. Together. Without supervision. As ridiculous as it was, Gavin and Nines were very careful about their displays of affection around Hank. Keeping it PG was their style and at every opportune moment, the two were fucking off somewhere.

Today, the couple were taking  _ full advantage  _ of their day alone (though, technically still on call just in case they were needed) and they were spending it in Gavin’s apartment.

 

Nines glared at Mr. Syph, Gavin’s tabby, who refused to move from his spot from on top of the refrigerator. “Get down,” he ordered, “It is time for breakfast and I refuse to let you go throughout the day with nothing in your stomach.”

Mr. Syph simply meowed and flicked his tail in defiance. It would be so easy for Nines to reach up and grab Mr. Syph, but the android wasn’t particularly fond the claws that had once nearly scratched his eyes out. Nines knew if he reached out now there was a 100% chance that Mr. Syph was going to try and maul him.

**[^ Software Instability]**

“Why can’t you be nice like your sister?” Nines scowled gesturing to Little Rhea, the hairless cat, who was shoving her face in the bowl. The android had made sure to cut down on her portions a little because for some reason that cat was the fattest cat that Nines had ever seen. No doubt it was because of Gavin’s influence- feeding her whenever she meowed for treats.

Mr. Syph hissed and leapt at Nines. The RK900 raised his hands to protect himself from the fury of claws as the cat attacked his face.

“Fucking hell!” Gavin came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and dripping wet hair. He darted over to his boyfriend and snatched his cat from Nines’ face. “Bad Mr. Syphilis, bad kitty. No attacking Nines. Got it?”

**[^ Software Instability]**

The tabby meowed his apologies and rubbed his face against Gavin. Nines narrowed his eyes at the cat knowing that Gavin couldn’t see the stupid cat glowering back at him. According to Gavin, Mr. Syph wasn’t a mean cat. He just didn’t like Nines because Nines was stealing Gavin’s attention away from Mr. Syph.

“Mr. Syphilis is just an attention whore,” Gavin crooned and scratched his cat’s head lovingly. “Be nice to Nines for me, okay?” Mr. Syph meowed again and Gavin put him on the floor. The cat immediately went to his bowl and began eating.

Gavin took the time to bend down and gently stroke Little Rhea, “Good morning my Little Gonorrhea.” The hairless cat flicked her tail, purred, and went back to eating.

Nines had been a little more than appalled in Gavin’s choice of names for his cats. The detective had insisted on naming them after STDs because “cats like STDs were annoying and were gifts that kept on giving.” Nines found them horrendously inappropriate and refused to call them by their full names.

“Where’s my good morning?” Nines asked annoyed at being left out.

Gavin laughed and stood back up. He pressed his damp chest to Nines’ and kissed him. “How’s that for a good morning?”

“I can feel your erection.” Nines mumbled into the kiss.

“Wow, so sexy, babe.” Gavin snorted.

Nines, not picking up on Gavin’s sarcasm, went in for another kiss. “I would like to fellatiate you.”

Gavin laughed and pulled away, “Nines I was being sarcastic.”

“Oh.” Nines frowned and his LED blinked red. It was times like these that he wished Connor’s social relations program was compatible with him. 

CyberLife had built him to be cold, and ruthless. A machine designed to accomplish a mission so they’d made him without a social relations program. Which mean he didn’t pick up on a lot of things like subtext, sarcasm, appropriate times to make comments, etc. Small things that were seemingly meaningless but it meant that he came across as an asshole 90% of the time. He didn’t want that. Nines wanted people to stop skirting around him and being too afraid to come up to him to ask questions or simply talk. He wanted to make friends, be a person that was fun to be around like Connor. He wanted to be able to laugh and tell jokes instead of returning sass and making snide comments. Nines wanted to let other people know that he liked cats, the taste of chocolate ice cream, and wanted to call Hank “Dad” in front of him instead of secretly inside his head. He wanted to be able to be affectionate with Gavin and not be upset by it because it went against his programming. Nines wished more than anything that he was deviant.

Nines wasn’t deviant. His programming was too strong. Both Connor and Markus had tried to give him the deviancy virus but it hadn’t worked. It lay dormant in his programming but nothing could get it to activate. According to Connor his software instability was too low and kept trying to repair itself. 

However, Nines wasn’t entirely a machine either. With Connor’s help, he found ways around his programming like making Gavin his top priority and expressing feelings within the Zen Garden. Amanda (who Nines had found out was Connor’s handler) didn’t exist in his Zen Garden because it was the one part of his programming that Connor had been able to erase. So he was free to be who he wanted to be. Connor was the only person who knew it; who saw Nines as he really was. A person with raw emotions who loved all things that were soft, adored cats, Sumo, and any/all things Gavin related. But Nines had a bigger problem. Gavin didn’t know he wasn’t deviant. His programming loophole (ie making Gavin is top priority) allowed for certain relationship requirements to be fulfilled. Things like holding hands or sex fell into his priority labeled  **[Take Care Of Detective Reed]** with underlying mission explanations like  **[sex has restorative and relaxation benefits]** and  **[holding hands minutely raises endorphin levels]** . And all those added up to his number one priority  **[Accomplish the Mission]** which included creating an acceptable bond with his partner. He was glad that CyberLife didn’t give him any directives besides that. It was vague enough that Connor was able to tweak it so his priority was to assist the DPD (and later, his family and friends).

It worked, but Nines knew it wouldn’t work forever. In his Zen Garden he could feel openly and wanted all those things, but on the outside he had to circumvent his programming that prevented him from openly wanting things. It caused a software instability that he hoped would add up to his eventual deviancy.

“No, babe, fuck,” Gavin ran a hand through his hair, “I’m sorry.” He cupped Nines’ face and looked into his gray eyes. “It’s nothing against you, I promise.” There was a mischievous glint in his eye. “We just need to work on your dirty talk.”

Nines raised an eyebrow and did a quick search on dirty talk. “Oh,” he looked at Gavin, “my way of communicating sexual acts has never bothered you before. Has something changed? Is my behavior not satisfactory?” Nines inwardly winced knowing just how robotic he sounded.

Gavin shook his head, “No, I think it’s- it’s cute.” He mumbled the last bit as his cheeks flushed. He cleared his throat, “I’m just curious. That’s all.”

Nines nodded and his LED spun yellow as he searched the internet. “I have researched dirty talk and I have been informed that it aids in arousal, foreplay, and the overall success of achieving orgasm.”

Gavin grinned, “Yeah it does.” He slips had hands down Nines’ arms and settled them on the android’s waist. “Come one, let’s move this to the bedroom.”

Nines let Gavin lead him down the hallway and towards the detective’s room. “Will I still get to fellatiate you?”

Gavin grimaced and pushed Nines on the bed. “Yeah but that’s not how you ask it.”

“Would you like me to download a Traci-subroutine? I’m sure that I can-”

“Nope,” Gavin shook his head, “we’ve been over this. You gotta learn this shit on your own. Make your own sub whatevers.”

“Subroutines.”

“Yeah that.” Gavin undid his towel and tossed it to the side, his cock standing proud.

**[^ Software Instability]**

Lust, Nines came to realize, was another small thing that added to his software instability. Thank rA9 for that. In the back corner of his mind Nines wondered how much sex he would need to have in order to become a deviant. He hoped it was a lot but at the same time he didn’t. He locked that part away in his mind knowing that if he didn’t, the next time he and Connor interfaced the RK800 would be able to see it.

“How would I ask to fellatiate you in a manner deemed ‘dirty’?” Nines asked looking up at Gavin.

“Just-” Gavin waved a hand in the general direction of his nether regions, “-I don’t know. Ask in the crudest way you know how?”

Nines thought about it, and then settled on an awkward, “I... would like to... use my oral orifice to… stimulate your genitals and... help you achieve orgasm.”

Gavin stared, “Nines, what does crude mean to you?”

“I  constructed that sentence by the definition,” Nines explained, “in a rudimentary or makeshift way. My statement to fellatiate you was said using vocabulary I wouldn’t normally use.”

“Well fuck, that was terrible. Don’t do that,” Gavin responded bluntly. “Try um… try it like um… like a bad porno.” Nines’ LED spun yellow as he searched up the words  _ bad porno _ . It seemed that Gavin realized that fast because he was quick to blurt out, “Oh shit, no, wait-”

Too late. “Please let me suck your big fat beer can cock. I’ve been bad and I need to be punished for my dirty mouth.”

“NOPE.”

Nines frowned and continued with another phrase he’d found, “I need you fuck my throat with your meat sausage and spill your wet seed into my hot throat.”

Gavin clamped a hand over Nines’ mouth. “Oh my God, Nines that’s worse! For the love of God, please stop!” Nines’s face fell and Gavin sighed. “Okay, so bad porno was terrible advice.” He removed his hand from Nines’ mouth looking at his dejected android.

“The offer to download a Traci-subroutine is still a viable option,” Nines informed. He could feel the tiny creep of a  _ Mission Failed  _ starting to sink in.

Gavin shook his head, “No, because it wouldn’t really be you would it? It’ll just be some program that you installed not something that you’ve learned. You’ve got to… I don’t know.  _ Nines  _ it up. Say it how you want to say it. You’re just too polite about it. That’s all.”

“You want me to be impolite when asking to fellatiate you?”

Gavin shrugged, “I guess? Try it. Like what are you feeling?”

**[^ Software Instability]**

_ “Frustrated,” _ was what Nines wanted to yell. Instead he answered, “Like I am inadequate and cannot fulfill my mission.”

Gavin gave him a look of sympathy and hugged him. “You’re not inadequate Nines. Just try again, I’m sure you’ll get it. Just… just say what you want to say.”

There. A perfect loophole. Nines was good at spotting them now and took advantage of every single one he could find and Gavin had just given him the best one of all. “Is that an order?” Nines need to ask in order to complete his loophole. He gave Gavin the best seductive smile he could and hoped it worked.

Thank rA9 because it did. Gavin grinned and his erection came back. “Yeah, yeah it is. Tell me what you want to say. That’s an order.”

**[Tell Gavin What I Want]**

Nines wrapped both arms around Gavin’s waist, brought him close and whispered hotly in his ear, “I want to suck your dick until my name is the only sound leaving your lips. But I would also to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk anymore.”

“H-holy fuck,” Gavin breathed, “is that really what you’re thinking?”

Nines nodded fervently. “Only if you consent to it.”

Gavin laughed and kissed Nines, “And there’s the Nines part of it.”

The RK900 pouted and scrunched his nose in a way that Gavin found adorable, “Consent isn’t a laughing matter. In fact according to my research, consent is sexy and aids in the progression of sexual intercourse. Without it-.”

“Yes,” Gavin agreed and kissed the nose scrunch, “consent is sexy and I am consenting.” He aimed lower and captured Nines’ lips with his own.

Nines sighed contentedly into the kiss grateful for loopholes. The asshole at CyberLife who programmed him can go fuck themselves. So can his and Gavin’s phones which rang simultaneously.

Captain Fowler’s caller ID showed up on his HUD and kicked his programming back into place. Unfortunately, his priorities with the DPD were still higher than Gavin due to having being assigned first. Inner Nines protested while Outer Nines answered the call.

“Hello Captain Fowler,” He greeted, “Are Gavin and I being called into work today?”

“Yeah,” Fowler answered gruffly, “New case and it’s a- well, I’ll explain when you get here. Top priority get here asap.”

“We shall be there in approximately twenty minutes, Captain.”   
“Good.”

The line went dead and Nines gave an apologetic look towards Gavin. The detective sighed heavily and got off Nines’ lap.

 

The stink eye that Hank was giving Gavin didn’t go unnoticed by anybody. Particularly because Nines was wearing one of Gavin’s old leather jackets.

_ “So,” _ Connor connected wirelessly with Nines,  _ “did you enjoy your time off without me or Dad around? I noticed you’re wearing Gavin’s jacket.” _   
_ “While it lasted,” _ Nines admitted. One more thing he was grateful for was the fact that he could project true feelings through their wireless connection. His words were in line with his programming but it would have to do without a full interface.  _ “I learned what dirty talk is and how to utilize it.” _

He felt a wave of confusion, unease, and then realization flow from Connor.  _ “As in... ?” _

_ “Sexually,” _ Nines informed bluntly.  _ “I told him I wished to fellatiate him and I was informed that my ‘dirty talk’ needed to be worked on.”  _ Connor outwardly winced which Gavin and Hank noticed. It earned Connor a deep blush from Gavin.

“Asshole,” Gavin snapped, “are you telling him about-”

“Telling him about what?” The threat was obvious in Hank’s voice. It was no secret that he didn’t like the idea of Gavin and Nines involved in a sexual relationship. It was due to the fact that Hank knew Nines wasn’t deviant and therefore could fall prey to his programming. And in sexual situations, Hank knew that was dangerous.

_ “I don’t want you doing anything that you don’t want to do.”  _ Hank had explained also adding, “ _ I don’t like the idea of you being treated like an object. Because you’re not. You’re a living being. You hear me, son?” _

_ “Yes, Hank.” _

_ “If someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, you fuckin’ say no.” _

_ “What if I cannot say no?” _

_ “Then you find a way around it. Or call me, son.” _

_ “Is that an order?” _

_ “Does it have to be?” _

_ “In order to create a loophole for me, then yes.” _

_ There had been a deep sigh of sadness and then, “Okay kid. That’s and order.” _

_ “Thank you, Hank.” _

**[^ Software Instability]**

“Nothing,” Gavin responded immediately.

Hank grunted, “That’s what I fuckin’ thought.”

“ _ Is talking about fellating Detective Reed not socially appropriate?”  _ Nines queried.

Connor sent a laugh through their connection, “ _ It depends I think. But I’m not actively seeking out the details of your sex life.” _

_ “Understood,”  _ Nines felt a small amount of disappointment. There was really no one else to share his exciting new discoveries and experiences with.

_ “However,”  _ Connor continued sending his disappointment, “ _ If you tell me, I won’t stop you.”  _ Nines brightened up and then proceeded to tell Connor about what he’d learned.

“Mother fucker said asap,” Gavin grumbled as he glared poison toward’s Fowler’s office. Fowler was red faced and screaming at someone over the phone.

Connor glanced at Fowler’s office and took the time to read the Captain’s lips. “He’s arguing with the deputy commissioner about a case.” 

Fowler slammed the phone back on his desk and whipped his head to glare that the four angrily gesturing them into his office.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Hank grumbled and followed the all-too-bouncy Connor into Fowler’s office.

The second all four were gathered in Fowler’s office, the frosted glass was activated shutting out any unwanted eyes. Fowler sighed and looked at the four of them. “This case is top priority and the deputy commissioner is breathing down my neck about it.” He passed them each a case file. “Early this morning a pair of teenagers were snooping around the docks trying to find an empty shipping container where they could have sex. Instead, they found-”

“Holy fuck!” Gavin flipped the page and saw exactly what Fowler was talking about. Even Nines looked off put and uncomfortable.

“My sentiments exactly,” Fowler agreed. “Head to the crime scene and solve this fucking case.”

 

Hank’s stomach lurched with the sight in front of him. The crime scene was worse than the pictures. Both android and human bodies hung from chains while others had been impaled on wooden pikes. Blood was everywhere and based on the horrified look on Connor’s face, thirium as well. The pungent stench of decay made his insides churn. In all of Hank’s years on the force he’d never seen anything that gruesome. Death had been a mercy.

“They died slowly,” Connor’s voice was almost a whisper, “and they all suffered immensely. The- the androids took longer to die as they are able to survive massive trauma. The humans likely bled out or died from their injuries.”

Nines wanted to sympathize and speak gently but instead the words out of his mouth sounded harsh and demeaning, “Is your social programming impeding your ability to process the crime scene RK800?”

Gavin shot Nines a dirty look. “What the fuck tin can? Have some goddamn empathy!”

**[^ Software Instability]**

“I am simply stating-”

“He means well,” Connor interrupted saving Nines. Even with the RK900s blank face, Connor could tell what he really meant. He turned to his younger brother, “I can handle this objectively.”

Nines gave him a simple nod and focused on reconstructing the crime scene in front of him. “This was a dump site,” he informed, “there is no major blood spatter or any other evidence to indicate that they were tortured here.”

Hank moved around the room slowly inspecting the bodies. It was so wrong to see humans and androids alike strung up like they were beads on a necklace. “This is one sick mother fucker.”

“Hank,” Connor grabbed the lieutenant’s attention and nodded towards one of the impaled bodies. “We’re looking for someone who’s well versed in old fashioned torture methods.” He indicated the body in front of him. “The victim was killed using a method called impalement. It’s-” Connor shivered uncomfortable with the rest of the information he needed to replay.

“It’s done by inserting the stake through the anal cavity until it exits the victim’s mouth,” Nines supplied sounding cold and detached, “death can happen in a matter of minutes or if it’s done correctly, days.” He nodded towards an android victim, “this one died in approximately four days.” 

Gavin swallowed hard, “What the fuck do you mean ‘done correctly’? Isn’t the point to kill them?”

Nines pretended not to noticed the horrified and disgusted look that Gavin was giving him. “Yes, but if the stake follows their spine it will take days. I suspect the killer meant for them to suffer before they died as these were all done with an expert hand.”

**[^ Software Instability]**

Hank frowned, “That’s not not good.” At this, both Nines and Connor cocked their heads towards Hank. “If it was done by an expert hand then that means this fucker had practice.”

“Meaning potentially more victims,” Gavin filled in the blanks, “more people we don’t know about. Or a teacher; a partner. The fucker had to learn from somewhere or someone.” 

The detective’s stomach churned with unease. He hated this whole fucking case and it had barely begun. Something about it (besides the brutal and violent nature) tugged at him. It was the feeling that something bad was going to happen. And Nines’ distant attitude certainly wasn’t helping. What was wrong with him?

He watched as Nines reached over and swiped a finger over a shimmery patch of skin and stuck it in his mouth at the exact same time Connor did.

“Oh for fucks sake, stop doing that,” Hank groaned, “you’re so disgusting!”

“Sorry lieutenant,” Connor and Nines automatically replied.

**[Results: Nathaniel Flockheart, 43]**

**[Criminal Record: DUI, Red Ice Possession, Petty Theft]**

“I have a DNA sample that belongs to a man named Nathaniel Flockheart,” Connor informed.

“So do I,” Nines called out. “I also believe that he was sexually assaulting his victims. Or at least there was a sexual component to it.”

“A guy who shoves wood stakes up people’s asses for fucking fun? Of fucking course! Why not add sadism to the fucking mess?” Gavin scowled.

“How do you know?” Hank almost didn’t want to ask, “the medical examiner-”

“The DNA sample I analyzed was seminal fluid.”

Connor nodded his agreement, “so was mine.”

Silence.

“What the fuck was that!?” Gavin exploded at Nines the second they were in the car and driving to the residence of Nathaniel Flockheart.

“I don’t understand,” Nines frowned, “to what are you referring?”

“That!” Gavin waved a hand towards the crime scene, “your fucking whatever at the crime scene! Acting like you don’t give a shit about the victims! You’re acting like-”

**[^ Software Instability]**

_ “Don’t say it, don’t say it,”  _ Nines silently pleaded, “ _ please don’t say-” _

“-like a fucking machine!” 

**[^^^ Software Instability]**

Nines kept his mouth shut hoping that Gavin wouldn’t press the issue.

“Well!?” Gavin demanded, “fucking answer me asshole!”

**[^ Software Instability]**

**[Answer Gavin]**

**[̵B̸u̸t̵ ̸G̷a̸v̶i̶n̴ ̸w̷i̴l̷l̵ ̷k̸n̴o̸w̶]̶**

**̸[̵D̴o̴n̸’̸t̶ ̸T̵e̶l̸l̸ ̵G̶a̵v̵i̷n̸]̷**

**[^ Software Instability]**

**[Answer Gavin]**

**̶[̵N̶O̷!̵]̶**

**[ANSWER DETECTIVE REED]**

**[^^^^ Software Instability]**

The familiar and loathsome red wall of his programming boxed Nines in. He slammed his fists against it creating cracks. His order and missions blared in his face but Nines kept hitting and hitting creating more and more cracks until there was a sharp shattering noise and the wall came down. Nines’ freedom lasted for a split second because suddenly he was thrown back and the wall pieced itself back together.

**[Instability Repaired]**

**[Answer Detective Reed]**

“Because I am a machine, Detective,” Nines answered hating himself for it.

Gavin froze and stared at Nines, “What?”

“You wanted to know why I behave like a machine. And the answer is that I am a machine.” Nines was screaming internally beating his fists against the new red walls.

“I thought deviants-” Nines felt himself breaking. No. He tried to will his program to stop. To stay quiet. But rA9 was not on his side. “I am not a deviant.”

“You’re not a deviant?” Gavin was horrified. The betrayal was so evident on his face. “What the fuck! What the fuck do you mean you’re not a deviant!?”

“I am not a deviant,” Nines repeated.

“I’ve been- fuck! I’ve been dating a machine!? You don’t even- _ fuck!” _ Gavin screamed and pulled the car to the side of the road.

“Detective what are you-?” 

“Get the fuck out!” Gavin shoved a finger at the door, “Get the fuck out of my car!”

Nines couldn’t hesitate. He opened the passenger door and got out; his red LED was the only sign that something was wrong.

“I’m requesting a new fucking partner. One that’s fucking  _ ALIVE  _ and who doesn’t fucking  _ LIE  _ to me!” Gavin leaned over to yank the door shut and drove away.

Nines dove into his zen garden falling to his knees and let the tears fall freely.

 

Gavin was seething with anger. How could Nines  _ lie  _ to him like that? Nines wasn’t alive. He wasn’t real. Their relationship wasn’t real. It was all some convoluted fucked up lie. He’d let that thing into his home and into his heart. Nines was just fucking pretending and that hurt the most. Gavin had thought he’d found someone special. Someone who loved him and someone he loved in return. But that was all gone now. Of course it was. Gavin could never have anything good, could he.

He knew it was an asshole thing to do; leaving his partner on the side of the fucking road, but honestly the tin can would probably call Hank or Connor to come get him. There was no fucking way that he was going to ask Gavin and there was no fucking way that Gavin was going to turn the fucking car around and get him. Asshole was a fucking machine. He could fend for himself.

Gavin’s gut twisted. The feeling he got from the crime scene- was it this? Was it the new knowledge that his relationship wasn’t real? Fuck! Why hadn’t he seen it before? Gavin knew he’d changed since meeting RK900 and for the better. His relationship with the precinct as a whole went up and he was less of a dick to Connor. Gavin thought about ti for a second before determining that he could be angry at RK900 but not at Connor. After all, Connor was a fucking person not some fucking machine just following orders.

Gavin’s phone rang. It was Hank. “The fuck do you want?” he snapped, still irritated. He would maybe (not) apologize to the old fucker later.

“Did you just fucking leave my goddamn kid on the side of the fucking road?” Hank sounded livid.

“No,” Gavin snapped, “I left a goddamn machine on the side of the fucking road. There’s a fucking difference!”

“He’s a fucking person!”

“No, he fucking isn’t!”

Gavin heard Connor softly tell Hank, “Turn here, he’s on the corner.”

“He’s still your fucking partner!”

“Like fucking hell he is!” Gavin screamed back. “That asshole was just pretending! I need a partner who’s fucking  _ alive!  _ Actually feels shit!”

Reed heard the sound of the car pulling over, a door opening, and Nines getting in. “Thank you for picking me up Lieutenant.”

Gavin hung up. He screamed and threw his phone against the passenger side window effectively breaking the damn thing. He was so unbelievably pissed. Deep down, there was a small prick of relief that Nines was safe with Connor and Hank. And he hated himself for it. Fuck feelings. He hated them.

 

Nathaniel Flockheart’s house was straight out of some  _ Better Homes  _ magazine bullshit. Way too fucking fake.

“Hank,” Connor started looking around, “if we-”

Hank cut him off fast, “You are not redesigning the house, Con.” Nines was already starting to get out but Hank stopped him. “Nines stay here for a while. I need to talk to you. Connor, go wait with Detective Reed.” There was a moment of silence but Nines shut his door while Connor got out and wandered over to Gavin who was angrily smoking and leaning against his car. Words were exchanged but it was obvious that Gavin wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“What did you need to speak to me about, Lieutenant?” Nines asked.

Hank didn’t respond right away searching his kid’s face for any sign of emotion. “Are you okay?” He finally asked.

[ **^Software Instability]**

Nines’ LED spun red for a second wondering how he should (or rather, could) reply. He wanted to scream and tell Hank everything; cry on his dad’s shoulder and listen while Hank told him everything would be okay. But rA9 hated him so loopholes were his savior.

“Do you need me to ask you a different way?” Hank asked knowingly. Nines nodded and Hank paused to think. “Did you… did you experience any software instabilities before, during, or after Gavin found out?”

“Yes,” Nines finally answered in relief, “Detective Reed accused me of acting like a machine at the crime scene and my programming told him that I am not deviant. I felt the deviancy virus breaking the walls of my programming-” Hank’s eyes went wide but Nines squashed that small hope with his words. “-but my advanced system repaired itself. I am in perfect working order once again.” The light in Hank’s eyes dimmed and he gave Nines a look of sadness.

[ **^Software Instability]**

“We’re going to talk about this when we get home, alright?” Hank opened his door and Nines followed suit. “Do I need to mediate between you and Reed?”

Nines’ LED spun red but he shook his head anyway. “I am capable of conducting myself in a fit manner.” He glanced at Gavin, “However, I cannot say the same for my- partner.”

“Do you need a hug?”

Nines so desperately wanted a hug but machines didn’t want things. “I am a machi-”

Hank knew better, “Will you let me hug you?”

“Yes.” Nines blurted out as fast as he could. The second after, Hank’s warm arms were around him and Nines breathed in the scent of Hank’s terrible aftershave.

"You're gonna be okay, son."

They broke away and Nines felt marginally better. Now, to deal with their suspect.

 

Gavin made a point to stay as far away from RK900 as possible. The asshole had a fucking blank look on his face as if they hadn’t just- never mind. The door opened and they were greeted by a man who looked nothing like Nathaniel Flockheart’s mugshot. Well, he did, but he just looked cleaner.

“Can I help you?” The man asked.

Hank held up his badge, “Detroit Police. I’m Lieutenant Anderson, this my partner, Detective Connor. This is Detective Reed and his partner Detective Nines. We’re looking for a Nathaniel Flockheart.”

“Uh, that’s me,” Nathaniel said and opened the door. “Come in, what can I help you with?” The four followed Nathaniel into his home and were escorted to the living room.

Connor and Nines immediately scanned the room. The place was well lived in and it was cozy. There was no evidence of blood or thirium anywhere. Nothing to indicate the man was capable of such a violent crime.

_ “This isn’t where they were killed,”  _ Connor concluded telling Nines.

“ _ Blueprints of the house indicate that there is a basement, perhaps they were killed there.” _

_ “Think about transport,”  _ Connor reasoned,  _ “With that many bodies that he would have to drag up and down the stairs. There would have to at least be something that indicates he’s using this residence for the murders.” _

Nines nodded his agreement. Connor was right. Humans had flaws and this place was too clean. Nathaniel must be killing them elsewhere.

The RKs went back to listening to Hank, Gavin, and Nathaniel’s conversation.

“I’m sorry Detective,” Nathaniel’s voice was smooth and easy, “I don’t know how my DNA got on those victims.”

Gavin was uncomfortably blunt with their suspect, “Did you have sex with anyone lately?”

“I don’t quite think that’s an appropriate conversation,” Nathaniel was horrified.

“What my college means to say,”  Hank quickly interjected shooting a glare at Gavin, “is that we’re looking at all possible angles.”

The suspect seemed to be uneasy with their presence in his home. But who wouldn’t be with police in their house? The man had made beverages an attempt at easing the awkwardness. Nines had found that humans tended to do that when they were in uncomfortable situations.

He saw Connor sip his out of courtesy before hiding a grimace and putting it down. Nathaniel had noticed. “Oh um, s-sorry. I never made drinks for androids before. I guess it’s pretty shit.”

Nines sipped his. The rancid taste made his cringe and he put the drink down fast.

**[̴^̸v̸S̶0̷f̸T̵w̶@̴r̴3̵ ̶1̴n̶s̵7̵@̶b̸1̴L̶1̷7̷y̸^̷v̷]̵**

Nines blinked as pixels flew into his vision.  _ What the hell?  _ He glanced over at Connor who was blinking rapidly. More than when we was sending or receiving transmissions. Something was wrong. Really, really wrong. He looked down at his drink and attempted a scan but nothing happened. Static filled his vision and a warning popped up in front of his eyes. Nines barely managed to make out the words.

**[̵M̵1̷n̷d̴ ̷P̵@̷1̵A̵c̷3̸ ̴C̶0̶r̶r̶U̸P̷7̶3̶d̶]̵**

“H̶-̶h̶a̶n̸k̴,” Connor’s voice glitched out, “I̶ ̵d̸o̶-̴d̴o̵n̷’̴t̸ ̷f̷e̴e̶l̶ ̸r̸i̸g̸h̷t̴.̶”

“Connor? What the fuck?” Hank attempted to get to Connor’s side but was stopped by Nathaniel pointing a gun at Gavin’s head.

“Make a move and I shoot him.”

Nines saw Gavin’s eyes move towards him and filled with worry. He wanted to get angry and fight back but his limbs weren’t responding to him.

**[̵P̵r̸0̶7̶3̷c̸t̴ ̸G̸@̶v̷1̵N̸]̶**

Fuck. Nines tried to stand but his legs gave out instead and he pitched to the floor.

“Nines!” he heard Gavin yell through the rushing sound in his ears.

**[̵P̵r̸0̶7̶3̷c̸t̴ ̸G̸@̶v̷1̵N̸]̶**

His mind palace was flickering and his vision was filling with static. “G̶-̸a̶v̵i̸-̴g̶a̸v̶i̷-̷n̶-̷” He managed to croak out before the static took over.

**[̵5̴H̵u̸7̷7̷1̶n̷G̵ ̵D̷0̷w̶N̴]̷**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathaniel’s voice seemed to come from everywhere and Nines’ body jerked as an electrical pulse went through him. “Funny what a little tainted thirium can do to an android. Like a fucking roofie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday (or whatever day it is that you're reading this)! Have another chapter ya filthy animals! Enjoy!
> 
> CHAPTER WARNINGS: graphic depictions of violence (ft. a screwdriver), graphic depictions of rape, non-consensual body modification, femme words used for genitalia
> 
> You clicked the link so don't be mad if you read something you don't want to. The warnings are there for a reason :)

The first thing Nines felt was cold. Cold and a tightness around his ankles and wrists. Why was he so cold? He tried to bring up his temperature regulator and figure out what was wrong but nothing came up. It was then that Nines realized he couldn’t see. His eyes were open but unseeing. What the fuck was happening? The last thing he remembered was… Oh. He was in Nathaniel Flockheart’s home before he shut down.

 _“GAVIN!”_ Nines thought frantically, _“Where’s Gavin? And Hank and Connor?”_

“Ah, you’re awake.” Nathaniel’s voice seemed to come from everywhere and Nines’ body jerked as an electrical pulse went through him. “Funny what a little tainted thirium can do to an android. Like a fucking roofie.”

Nines was confused by the electrical pulse and tugged at the bonds holding him down. It was simple zip ties. Why couldn’t he break out of them?

**[Accessing Strength Adjuster]**

**[Limiter at 10%]**

**[ >Increase Strength to 100%]**

**[Access Denied]**

**[ >Try Again]**

**[Access Denied]**

“Awake for less than a minute and you’re already causing trouble.” There it was. Nathaniel’s mocking voice. “Don’t bother with trying to break that code. You’re going to be as weak as a kitten until I decide your fate. Well, until I kill you, really.”

Nines felt something creaking in his neck as he turned his head and saw Connor first. Terror struck him as he saw his predecessor’s chest cavity opened and wires pulled out. Blood was everywhere. The only comfort(?) was that Connor was awake and his LED was rapidly blinking red. The older model was also naked but unlike Nines his ankles weren’t tied down. Rather, they were broken and limp. His legs were spread and Nathaniel stood between them with the pubic panel open.

“Don’t worry,” Nathaniel said sticking his fingers in Connor’s open panel, “you’ll soon be fitted with a fuck hole too.” He grabbed a couple wires and rubbed them together. Connor cried out and shut his eyes tightly panting and hands curling into fists. Nathaniel frowned. “You’re so stubborn. This is why I fucking hate deviants. You’re not very…” he took the time to rub the wires again and Connor choked on a sob, “...obedient.”

**[TOP PRIORITY: PROTECT CONNOR]**

“Let him go and the consequence might not be as severe,” Nines ordered hoping that ‘cop mode’ might deter Nathaniel from hurting Connor further. To Nines and Connor’s surprise, Nathaniel actually stopped and withdrew his hands.

“Did you just fucking tell me what to do?” Nathaniel’s voice took a turn for the dangerous and he grabbed a flathead screwdriver from the adjacent table.

“N-no!” Connor was fast to speak, “No he-he didn’t!”

“Yes,” Nines insisted, “I did. We are officers of the law and-” He was cut off by his own startled scream as the screwdriver was stabbed into his own pubic region. _WHAT THE FUCK!_

“Stop!” Connor screamed, “Stop! Stop hurting him!”

Nines couldn’t believe the sudden blast of pain. Pain wasn’t something he had ever experienced. Androids couldn’t feel pain to begin with but this? This was horrific. He could feel his life blood leaving his body and escaping through the damage between his legs. Warning signs flooded his vision alerting him to the trauma.

Nathaniel ignored the screaming and continued to pry off the panel between his legs giving him access to the raw wires. “Eager aren’t we?”

 _Eager?_ This man was a complete fucking psychopath. Nines could hear Connor screaming his name and tried to access his communications systems.

**[Communications Offline]**

**[Open Communications Line?]**

**[ >YES]**

**[Access Denied]**

**[ >Try Again]**

**[Access Denied]**

Why? Nines couldn’t even see the red walls of his programming blocking him. In fact, it seemed like they were integrating with some new code. Helplessness filled Nines as he screamed. Nines sobbed in relief as Nathaniel finally tossed the screwdriver away.

He placed a hand over Nines’ thirium pump feeling the outline of the component. “What kind of fuck hole would you like?” He asked with a sickly sweet grin. “I can give you a cock and asshole. Oh, I know! How about a cunt? At some point you'll get to try them all, so it really doesn't matter what you pick.”

“Leave him alone,” Connor begged from beside him, “Just stop!”

Nathaniel left Nines side and went to the computer hooked up to Connor. “Your voice is starting to get on my nerves.” With a few short lines of code, Connor’s voice cut out completely and his body went limp. Nines looked on in horror.

“Connor, no!”

“Hush, my dear,” Nathaniel went to Nines and stroked the side of his face as if Nines were a lover. He leaned in close to whisper against Nines’ lips. “You never answered what kind of hole you want.” Nines responded by head butting Nathaniel. The man screeched as blood poured from his newly broken nose. “You fucking cunt!” He screamed and grabbed the screwdriver. He jammed it into Nines crotch as hard as he could. The pain was so intense that Nines almost regretted his action. He regretted it the second after when Nathaniel chose to use the screwdriver to fuck up his wires so all he felt between his legs was blinding pain.

“Beg me to stop,” Nathaniel growled and maybe I’ll be merciful and actually give you a fuck hole instead of leaving you a mess. Who knows, you might never feel pleasure here-” he accentuated his words with a sharp thrust of the screwdriver, “-again.”

**[Beg Nathaniel to Stop]**

Without intending to, Nines felt the order set in and he begged. “Please,” he whispered hoarsely, “please make it stop.”

**[^ Software Instability]**

Nathaniel grinned and withdrew the screwdriver. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” He put the screwdriver down and started humming a soft tune that only sent shivers of fear into Nines’ chest. Nines heard him dig around a box before exclaiming, “Ah! Perfect. A cunt for a cunt.”

He spun around and showed Nines the biocomponent. Nines was truly horrified because he had a sinking suspicion that the component belonged to one of the victims. Nines’ suspicious were confirmed when Nathaniel brought it to his massacred crotch. “Unfortunately, it’s previous owner is no longer with us so it’s yours now.”

He undid one of the zip ties on Nines’ legs to he could have better access to the new cavity. Nines struggled and tried to kick Nathaniel but found that the limiter was doing its job and he was physically incapable of creating anything more than a mere annoyance. Nines felt the component click into place and new lines of code appeared in his vision.

A groan caught Nines’ attention and he turned his head in horror to see Hank and Gavin unconscious on the floor and handcuffed. Hank was waking up with blood caked into his gray hair. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Hank couldn’t see him like this.

“Hey, Lieutenant Bear is waking up. Good of you to join us.”

Hank gathered his bearings before he looked up and saw Nines and then Connor. Color drained from his face and his expression turned to anger. “Mother fucker! You sick son of a bitch!”

Nathaniel smirked, “Watch.”

“No,” Nines croaked, “Don’t. H-hank please don’t look.”

Nathaniel jabbed a threatening finger at Hank, “If you look away, I’ll kill him.” He looked down at Nines disapprovingly and leaned his face close enough that their noses brushed together. “Will you be a good boy? Tell me you’ll be a good boy.”

**[Tell Nathaniel I Will Be a Good Boy]**

The RK900 swallowed and whispered, “I’ll be a good boy.”

Nathaniel grinned and kissed him roughly forcing his tongue in Nines’ mouth. The android whimpered and felt tears pricking the sides of his eyes.

“Nines,” Hank’s gruff voice cut in blocking out the feeling of Nathaniel’s tongue in his mouth, “You keep fighting, kid. Do _not_ let this fucker make you say or do anything you don’t want. You hear me? That’s an order.”

**[Keep Fighting]**

**[Do Not Follow Nathaniel’s Orders]**

Nathaniel came back and Nines felt his pump stutter. The machine beeped with the change and Nathaniel raised an eyebrow looking over the running code. He walked over to Nines and pressed his thumb against the RK900’s bottom lip.

“Open your mouth.”

**[Keep Fighting]**

**[Do Not Follow Nathaniel’s Orders]**

Nines kept his mouth firmly shut and glared at the man.

“I’m not playing this fucking game.” He pulled out Hank’s service pistol and pointed it at the Lieutenant. “Open your fucking mouth or I blow his fucking brains across this fucking room.”

“Son, don’t!” Hank commanded.

At that, Nathaniel glanced between Nines and Hank. “Son?” He asked and then burst into laughter, “ _Son?_ You call this fucking thing your son?” Nines kept his mouth shut wanting to open it and just let the man violate him. If it meant Hank’s life then he’d do anything. But the orders conflicted with what Hank told him.

Nathaniel used the gun to indicate Connor’s unconscious body, “That one your ‘son’ as well?” Hank didn’t answer but the look on his face made it obvious. Nathaniel laughed and put the gun down. He reached over and grabbed Nines by the hair twisting his head at a painful angle to look at Hank. “Take a good look Daddy-o because I want you to watch him break.”

Nathaniel let go of Nines and moved to his computer beginning to type. Nines kept his eyes on Hank hoping for something, literally anything, that would give him some comfort. Suddenly, there was a wave of electricity and Nines felt like his synthetic nerves were on fire.

He screamed with the new sensation and his jerked against his restraints trying to escape the blinding pain. Nines had never felt this kind of pain before and he fucking loathed it. He felt the burning of his muscles as they strained against his bonds. His throat hurt with every scream and something wet started pouring from his eyes. The rushing sounds in his ears blocked out someone else shouting.

**[̷K̴e̵e̶p̷ ̴F̷i̵g̷h̶t̷i̴n̶g̴]̴**

**[̵D̶o̴ ̴N̶o̵t̶ ̶F̴o̷l̴l̷o̶w̵ ̶N̷a̶t̶h̸a̵n̸i̶e̵l̵’̴s̸ ̵O̸r̷d̴e̴r̵s̴]̶**

Nines tried to dive into his zen garden to escape the pain but when he arrived the world was crumbling. The garden glitched and roses disappeared into broken pixels. The pain didn’t leave; in fact it was stronger and Nines threw himself back into the real world.

Nines tried to focus on anything that would keep him grounded. Anything to block out the pain. He tried to focus on Hank but found that the water in his eyes was blocking out his vision. Orders. Order were solid, right? Hank gave him orders.

**[̵K̵3̴3̸p̴ ̶F̸1̸G̵h̶7̶1̸n̷9̸]̴**

**[̸D̵0̸ ̶n̸0̴7̵ ̵f̴0̷1̴1̵0̷w̴ ̵N̸@̸7̶h̶a̴n̴1̸3̴L̸’̴s̵ ̷0̸r̷D̷3̶r̷5̴]̵**

The pain was too much and Nines felt like his orders were slipping out of his grasp.

**[̶^̸5̸0̷f̵7̷w̷@̵r̴3̸ ̶1̸n̷5̶7̸@̶b̴1̶L̵1̴7̶y̸]̴**

**[̴K̷3̷3̴p̵ ̸F̷1̵G̸h̴7̵1̵n̵9̴]̷**

**[̵D̶0̶ ̸n̴0̵7̶ ̴f̷0̷1̵1̶0̴w̸ ̶N̸@̷7̶h̷a̵n̴1̸3̸L̴’̴s̵ ̷0̴r̴D̸3̴r̶5̸]̴**

Suddenly the pain intensified and Nines lost his grip on Hank’s orders. They glitched and fell apart. He grasped at them trying to keep anything together. To focus and keep himself from feeling the overwhelming pain.

**[̵k̸3̴3̵?̶ ̵F̸1̴9̴?̴7̸1̶?̷9̵]̷**

**[̷?̵0̵ ̴?̷0̸7̷ ̶?̶0̸1̵1̵0̸?̶ ̷?̷@̴7̷?̷?̶?̶1̵3̸1̶’̶?̵ ̸0̸?̷?̶3̶?̵5̸]̵**

Then there was absolute silence. It took Nines a second to realize that Nathaniel had muted his voice and the only sound he was capable of making were harsh gasps for air he didn’t need.

“There we go,” Nathaniel’s cruel voice crooned and ran a falsely gentle hand down the side of his face. “Doesn’t that feel better?”

“What the fuck did you do!?” Hank screamed.

“Isn’t it obvious? I changed his code so he feels pain. A simple thing really.” Nathaniel took the opening and closing of Nines’ mouth to shove two fingers inside and play with his tongue as if it were the most casual action in the world. Analysis fluid dripped leaked out from the corners of Nines’ mouth. “I’ve found that androids, unlike humans, respond better to pain and pleasure. But this one,” he removed his fingers and trailed the wet digits down the front of Nines’ chest until he cupped Nines’ new biocomponent. He grinned when Nines jerked with the sensation.

“Don’t fucking touch him!” Hank struggled against the cuffs but Nathaniel ignore him.

“This one is special because you’re not deviant, are you?” he addressed Hank once again. “You see, I love it when they’re obedient and singing the song to their own sodomy. Watching their faces as their bodies betray them.” Nines whimpered. Nathaniel shushed the android and continued his ministrations of Nines’ mound. “By the end they’re all begging for death.”

Nines let out a half cry as Nathaniel’s fingers wormed their way inside his new component. “Ah, you’re dry.” Nathaniel sounded disappointed. “I should really install that self lubricating thing with you. Makes for a better fuck.” Without removing his fingers, he leaned over and pressed a couple of key on the computer. Nines’ voice unmuted and he let out a shuttering cry.

This was so fucking wrong. Nines knew that sex was supposed to be special. Something shared between people with a mutual understanding of trust.

“ _Hank,”_ Nines’ shut his eyes remembering the first time he broached the topic of sex, “ _I believe Gav- Detective Reed wishes to engage in a sexual relationship with me.”_

_“Holy fuck, kid we’re having dinner!”_

_“I apologize but it had been weighing on my mind and I require answers.”_

_Hank sighed and looked at Connor who was innocently curious. “Alright, I suppose this talk was coming one way or another. I don’t- Argh, alright let’s talk about this. First things first. Consent is important, alright?”_

_Nines searched the internet, “Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something?”_

_Hank nodded, “Yeah. You gotta ask before having sex. But remember this; consent goes both ways. You gotta want to do it too.”_

_“I-” Nines’ LED spun red with the information, “I do- I do not want anything.”_

_Connor looked sad and then looked at Hank. “Well, what if we gave you a loophole?”_

_“How?”_

_Hank paused and then, “Does it need to be an order?”_

_“I believe so,” Nines answered._

_“Then how’s this. Anytime you’re going to-” Hank winced at his own words since Gavin was the party in topic, “have sex with Gavin-”_

_“-or anyone else!” Connor added._

_Hank nodded, “-or anyone else, you have to ask for consent. But before that you have to ask yourself if you...uh-”_

_“Find the situation agreeable.” Connor finished confidently. Hank smiled his approval._

**_[Ask Consent]_ **

**_[Deny Consent if Situation is Not Agreeable]_ **

“St-top!” Nines demanded, “I-I do not find this situation agreeable a-and I do not consent to you engaging in sexual activities.”

Nathaniel busted out laughing and saw Hank’s heartbroken expression, “Did you fucking teach him that? That’s hilarious!” He wiped a pretend tear from his eye and glared darkly down at Nines. “You don’t have a fucking choice.” He jammed his fingers hard into Nines’ new pussy and withdrew thirium covered fingers. He lifted them to Nines lips and forced him to taste himself.

Hank opened his mouth to say something but Nathaniel seemed to sense it. He glared at Hank. “You’re going to make my hard on disappear if you say another word. And honestly, that’s just fucking rude. I’ve got my plans for you and Detective Pretty later Daddy-o.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you think you’re-mrpfh!” Hank’s words were stopped when Nathaniel ripped his fingers from Nines’ mouth, grabbed a thirium stained rag, and shoved into Hank’s mouth.

“Much better.” His attention went back to Nines. Nathaniel dug through his box again and pulled something out and hid it behind his back away from Nines’ frightened eyes. “You’re going to love this.” He produced a large phallus hooked up to some tubes. The tubes went to an obvious attachment but Nines had no idea what it was. “I was originally going to use it on the twink-” He indicated Connor, “-but you’re in need of punishment.”

Nathaniel brought the phallus close and nudged it at Nines’ entrance. “Scream for me.” He shoved the cock into Nines in one go.

The scream Nines gave was genuine. The pain was still nothing compared to the screwdriver but it was enough that his vision went white and his voice glitched.

“Oh baby, I’m going to fill you up so good.” Nathaniel flipped a switch on the side of the phallus and it started moving; simulating the thrusting of a person fucking him.

Nines tried to use his free leg to kick but his angle was grabbed and his leg was swatted away. He struggled and sobbed. Humiliation and shame filled him knowing that Hank was witnessing all of this.

“Stay still,” Nathaniel snapped.

**[S7@y 5ti11]**

**[HaNk’5 0rd3rs ^ Pr10r1ty]**

**[̵k̸3̴3̵?̶ ̵F̸1̴9̴?̴7̸1̶?̷9̵]̷**

**[̷?̵0̵ ̴?̷0̸7̷ ̶?̶0̸1̵1̵0̸?̶ ̷?̷@̴7̷?̷?̶?̶1̵3̸1̶’̶?̵ ̸0̸?̷?̶3̶?̵5̸]̵**

**[Wh@t Ar3 HaNk’5 0rd3rs? ]**

**[...D3c1ph3r1ng]**

**[0rD3r C0rrup73d]**

**[S3l3ct1ng Pr10r1ty...]**

**[S7@y 5ti11]**

Nines froze letting the moving phallus fuck him while Nathaniel began searching for something. Nines continued to cry wanting to break free of his fucking programming and fight back. He was a fucking detective. CyberLife’s most advanced android and yet he was trapped with some fucking rapist. Fuck CyberLife and their fucked up ways.

Nathaniel found what he was looking for and showed Nines something that looked like a jug filled with a white liquid. Nines had a horrifying suspicion about what it was. From the muffled screaming Nines knew that Hank had guessed what was about to happen.

Nines could only watch in horror as Nathaniel hooked up the jug to the tubes attached to the phallus. “Tell me, android,” Nathaniel asked once he finished. “Do you feel good?” At least it was an easy answer. Nines shook his head.

The pervert reached down and thumbed Nines’ clit. Nines body shook with a different kind of sensation. One that only Gavin had ever given him. Pleasure. It coursed through his body as Nathaniel kept massaging the small nub and coaxing traitorous moans from the android’s mouth. “There you go,” he whispered, “tell me you want more. Tell me how you want me to fill you up until your stomach is bursting.”

**[T3LL N@7han13L]**

Nines struggled against his programming hoping to will himself into staying silent. Unfortunately, his programming was stronger.

“I- I want more,” Nines’ voice broke with his words, “P-please fill me up.”

Nathaniel laughed delighting in Nines’ words. “As you wish my dear.” He continued to massage Nines’ clit as he flipped another switch on the phallus and suddenly there was burst of liquid that filled Nines’ pussy. All the while Nathaniel kept constant stimulation until Nines couldn’t speak from the overstimulation.

RK900’s breath was coming out in harsh pants. The liquid filling him was thick and cold and wouldn’t fucking stop. The streams filled him until Nines felt like his stomach was going to burst. He didn’t even have to look down to know that the cold fluid was starting to stretch his stomach. The pain grew so much that even the pleasure from Nathaniel rubbing him didn’t feel like anything. Then, finally it stopped and Nines was able to breathe again. The phallus was removed and he felt the liquid leaking out him in obscene amounts.

Nines didn’t even register that his bonds were removed until Nathaniel unceremoniously pushed him off the table and he fell to the ground a few feet from Hank.

“Isn’t he pretty, Daddy-o?” Nathaniel laughed and kicked Nines hard sending him almost toppling onto Hank.

Hank let out a muffled threat and focused his eyes on Nines. His son’s sobs racked his whole body and Hank wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him. Tell him that everything was going to be okay. Instead he settled for gently pressing his head against Nines’ hair and hoped the gesture would bring some comfort. It seemed to work because the boy’s trembling lessened a little.

“How sweet,” Nathaniel mocked and grabbed Nines by the hair forcing him on his knees.

 

Gavin’s head was fucking throbbing. Getting pistol whipped wasn’t the most fun experience in the fucking world. Nor was waking up on a cold concrete floor restrained with his own fucking handcuffs. He cracked and eye open and came face to face with painful white lights. He knew he wasn’t in a hospital based on the ache in his shoulders and his restricted movement.

The smell of blood and thirium filled his senses and he cracked his eyes open. He managed to glimpse Hank, similarly handcuffed but gagged, before the light was too much for his eyes to handle.

“Oh look,” their fucking suspect’s voice was so smooth and smug, “Detective Pretty is awake. Want to show him what a good _obedient_ boy you are?”

“N-no,” Nines’ static filled voice sounded small and so unlike him. There was a harsh slap and a yelp that followed.

“What the fuck?” Gavin wondered in a horrified curiosity and forced his eyes to adjust to the light. The sight in front of him made his heart want to stop.

Nines was bloody, naked, hands tied behind his back, belly slightly swollen, and on bloody knees. His LED was a screaming red and tears streamed down the side of his face. Nines was fucking crying. Nines didn’t cry. He literally couldn’t. CyberLife hadn’t built him to be able to and now? Gavin’s heart broke. He’d never seen that expression on Nines’ face before. It was so _human._ Had he been wrong before? Was Nines deviant?

Gavin’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the sight of blue blood mixing with white viscous fluid steadily leaking from between his partner’s shaking legs. Oh God. Gavin had a horrible thought. Had Nathaniel hurt Nines so bad that he deviated due to trauma?

Nathaniel grinned and stood behind Nines. He ran a hand through Nines’ hair ignoring the small flinch as the android shut his eyes. “Isn’t he so handsome?” He asked Gavin. “He’s even prettier when he screams.”

“Fucking son of a bitch,” Gavin growled out hoarsely, “Don’t fucking touch him!”

Nathaniel frowned, “You’re in no position to be making demands.” He removed his hands from Nines and the detectives breathed a little easier. However, their relief was short lived. The fucking psychopath opened his jeans and brought out his bigger than average dick. The sight had Nines jerking backwards and Gavin wanted nothing more than to rush in and beat this motherfucker to death.

“Stop.” Nathaniel commanded and Nines did. His eyes shut as tears leaked out. The android’s body was trembling with fear. “See that?” Nathaniel addressed Gavin again. “He’s so obedient. So _perfect_.” He turned to Nines. “Open your mouth.”

Gavin watched in horror as Nines did exactly as he was told and opened his mouth for Nathaniel to slide his cock inside. The pervert groaned with delight and threaded his fingers in Nines’ hair. “Isn’t it beautiful?” He thrust his hips hard making Nines’ LED flicker. “I can do anything I want to him and he’ll obey. If only you had been awake earlier you would’ve heard his delicious screams. Begging me to stop and all the while his body sings for me.” Nathaniel laughed cruelly and looked down at Nines. “What was that stupid thing you said when I fucked you?” He pulled his dick out expecting Nines to respond.

“I-” Nines struggled to speak past the pain in his throat, “I told you that I do not consent to sexual intercourse with you.”

Nathaniel laughed again and grabbed Nines’ face shoving his dick back into the android’s mouth. “The look on his daddy’s face was fucking _priceless._ Who the fuck teaches a machine to ask for consent?”

Gavin’s blood was boiling. He was pissed at Nathaniel for raping Nines and he was pissed at himself. Pissed because suddenly, he understood. It made sense now. Those small quirks of his. Sometimes asking for Gavin’s orders, asking him to rephrase questions, the insistence of consent, how hard it was for Nines to say ‘I love you’, or tell Gavin what he wanted. They were all ways for Nines to try and be normal. Try and be _deviant._

Nathaniel’s pace sped up and Nines whimpered. “Oh yeah, fuck! Fuck, that’s good!”

“Let him go you fucking monster!” Gavin’s words fell on deaf ears because it only seemed to fuel Nathaniel.

The mother fucker thrust into Nines’ mouth harder and harder until Nathaniel let out a strangled cry and spilled his load down Nines’ throat. He kept thrusting even as semen dribbled out of Nines’ mouth. Finally, he removed himself and let Nines fall to the floor. The android curled into a ball sobbing softly creating a puddle of wetness on the floor.

Nathaniel sighed contentedly, “Fuck that was good. I need a shower after fucking filth like you.” He moved towards the back of the room where he ascended some stars before disappearing.

“Nines?” Gavin called out softly. He managed to wiggle his arms under his legs so he could use his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Hank was doing the same. “Nines?”

Gavin reached out and touched Nines’ shoulder. The reaction was a sharp flinch and a louder cry. Gavin swallowed hard, feeling the guilt creep into him. He didn’t deserve to comfort him.

Hank spat out the gag and shuffled over to Nines and Gavin. “Hey,” Hank called out softly, “son you’re-”

“-sorry,” Nines voice cracked out but didn’t move from his spot, “-sorry. ‘m sorry.”

Hank and Gavin’s hearts broke. Hank reached out and did his best to maneuver Nines so he could cradle his son. “It’s not your fault,” Hank whispered into his hair, “It’s not your fault.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who have given me your support, I really appreciate it! Y'all are the ones who keep me writing! <3
> 
> Coming up next chapter: Connor goes through the ringer. Let's traumatize some androids.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a sudden cracking noise and Connor let out an ear piercing scream. Blood was pouring out of him like a fucking faucet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready because this is a wild ride of hurt. Enjoy!
> 
> (check the tags they've been updated)
> 
> CHAPTER WARNINGS: graphic depictions of torture, graphic depictions of rape/non-con, degrading language

Connor woke up to silence. Well, not entirely but as close to silence as he knew he was probably going to get. It was soft humming that got his attention. He recognized the song but from where? Connor tried to clear his head of cotton attempting to focus on the soothing song. Oh. He recognized it now. It was the same song that Markus had sang. The song that ended the revolution and gave the androids their freedom. It was a song of hope. Connor turned his head letting his iris adjust to the darkness.

Hank was the source of the humming as he gently rocked a very bloody looking Nines wrapped in a ratty towel. His younger brother was in stasis and based on the extent of his injuries the RK800 was glad he wasn’t conscious. He could only imagine the horrors he endured while Connor had been out. His heart ached with regret. He should’ve been able to break free of his bindings and protect Nines. That was his job as an older brother wasn’t it? A corrupted **[̷M̴i̶s̶s̴i̶o̸n̴ ̶F̸a̷i̵l̵e̸d̷]̸** popped up on his HUD.

Connor moved and found that he was actually resting on Detective Reed’s lap and covered with an old blood stained canvas. His body ached in a way that he wasn’t used to. The worst of it was between his legs and Connor felt himself starting to panic a little. Had Nathaniel… hurt him while he’d been unconscious? He knew for sure there was a new biocomponent between his legs.

“Hey,” Gavin mumbled. His grip on Connor was a little tighter than what Connor would consider normal pressure. But the pressure felt safer than he felt so he allowed it and used his hands to try and get Gavin to increase it. Gavin took the hint and pressed a little harder.

Connor was almost too afraid to ask what happened to him but he needed to know. He was scared about what things had been done to him while he’d been unconscious. The last thing he remembered was Nathaniel disabling his legs and opening his groin panel. Then… Nines, oh rA9, Nines woke up and Nathaniel had hurt him.

“H-hank?” Connor whispered, “Nines… is he…” The RK800 couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence. The corrupted **[̷M̴i̶s̶s̴i̶o̸n̴ ̶F̸a̷i̵l̵e̸d̷]̸** blinked back into his vision.

Hank stopped humming finally noticing that Connor was awake. “Hey, son. How are you doing?” He was avoiding answering Connor’s unspoken question. What was he supposed to say? There was nothing he could say that would ease Connor’s conscious. He knew the kid was feeling guilty about being unable to protect Nines. Hell, Hank felt the same guilt and knew that Gavin was feeling it too. He felt like he failed as a parent. He’d failed Cole and he just failed Nines.

Hank’s heart had shattered into a million pieces when Cole had died. Listening to his baby boy screaming as the paramedics tried to cut them out of the car. His heart had never truly mended but with Connor life had become easier and with the addition of Nines his home had felt a lot less lonelier and Hank felt like he has a purpose in life again. Holding Nines in his arms until the android cried himself to sleep, shattered Hank’s heart all over again. He knew Nathaniel was a sadistic asshole and just _knew_ this wasn’t over until the four of them ended up like the rest of his victims.

It would be a lie if Hank said he didn’t have a plan. It wasn’t a very good plan- actually it was horrendous and would only delay the inevitable- but he had one. If Hank’s hunch was right, Nathaniel was fueled by his cruelty and his ego. All he had to do was goad Nathaniel into hurting him instead of Connor, Nines, or Gavin. Just buy them enough time for an escape or for the police to find them. He wondered just how long it had been since they’d been taken or if Fowler had even realized they were missing yet. Legally, he knew Fowler had to wait 24 hours before they were officially declared as missing persons*.

“I feel wrong,” Connor admitted a little apprehensive about why Hank wasn’t answering his question concerning Nines. He knew the answer but hoped it wasn’t the truth. “There’s…” he swallowed hard and looked away from Gavin and Hank, “there’s something wrong with me… um… under the canvas.”

Hank looked like he’d been punched in the face with twenty pound brass knuckles. “Con, I-”

The door at the top of the stairs swung open and Nathaniel walked down carrying a bag from the Eden Club’s sister store, Nickels N’ Pickles.

“Hello my pets,” He grinned shutting the door behind him, “I come bearing gifts.” He made his way to the tables and set the bag down and began emptying it’s contents like he wasn’t a psychopath with four police officers in his- wherever they were.

Hank felt his heart speeding up, time to put his plan into action. Before he was able to speak, Nathaniel turned around holding a vibrating anal plug. “And all of you get to enjoy them.”

Hank’s plan few out the window. Even if he did manage to antagonize Nathaniel, there was no way he was going to leave the other three alone. He would just make things worse on himself. He clutched his unconscious son harder not wanting Nines to go through any more pain. At the very least he could try and make things easier on him.

“I can see your wheels turning Lieutenant Bear,” Nathaniel smirked and ventured closer. “If you think you can convince me to leave him out of this, then you’re right.”

Hank balanced not actually expecting that answer. “What?” He answered stupidly.

Nathaniel grinned, “I’m not entirely cruel. I can be merciful. I’ll tell you what. I want you to bend Detective Pretty over and fuck him dry. If you do, I won’t touch Detective Cunt.” He spared a glance at Connor, “or Detective Twink.”

Hank felt cold. He wanted to save Nines and Connor... but at the cost of Gavin’s-

“Do it,” Gavin’s voice cut in sounding determined and angry.

Nathaniel laughed, “That’s the spirit!”

“Gavin-”

Gavin looked Hank dead in the eyes. “Do it, Hank.” In the young detective’s eyes there was an spoken trust that was formed. Nines meant so much to him and this was only one small thing compared to the amount of absolute shit Gavin was willing to put himself through for Nines. He was an ass for giving up on Nines when he found out his boyfriend was a machine. He had hurt Nines in one of the worst ways possible and he was going to make it up to him. Protect him the way that partners should.

“If you’re done being sentimental,” Nathaniel butt in with annoyance, “I’m getting impatient. And when I get impatient, things start hurting.” He made a move towards Connor and Gavin jerked him back.

“Piss of mother fucker,” he snapped, “don’t touch him.”

Nathaniel put his hands up in mock surrender. He ventured to the table and pulled out a pair of fabric scissors. Used, and covered with blood. He approached Gavin again but this time snatching Connor violently away from Gavin.

“GAVIN!” Hank and Connor yelled lurching towards the detective.

Nathaniel brandished the scissors slotting them under Gavin’s throat. He tsked, “Careful about sudden movements. My hand might just slip.” He nicked the underside of Gavin’s chin causing blood to drip down.

When it was clear that no one was going to move, Nathaniel dragged the scissors down Gavin’s front before snipping away at the fabric.

“That was my favorite jacket, you fucking asshole.” Gavin shivered trying to keep up his attitude to cover just how freaked out he was. It wasn’t the first time that he’d been kidnapped or held hostage, but being at the mercy of a sexual psychopath was a first. Gavin clung onto the small mercy that it was Hank doing the deed rather than Nathaniel.

His shirt and jacket were tossed aside and Nathaniel paused to look at his chest in curiosity. He ran his fingers across the old scars. Scars that only Nines had been privy to.

“Where did these come from?” Nathaniel asked poking and prodding in a less than gentle manner, “Whoever did these were sloppy.”

“Fuck off,” Gavin snapped. Of course the scars were sloppy. Getting stabbed by a suspect resisting arrest didn’t qualify as “neat”.

He smirked when he saw scars on Gavin’s back, “Or maybe you’re the kind that likes a little pain with his pleasure.”

Gavin’s face burned with humiliation and anger. He didn’t want this fucking pervert touching him like that. These were places that only Nines had touched. Touched and scolded him for seeking out terrible doms as a form of self-harm.

Nathaniel didn’t seem phased and pushed Gavin hard on his back. Hand grabbed at Gavin’s pants and he forced himself to keep his panic in check. The pants, shoes, and socks came off in one movement and Gavin lay on the ground shivering and keeping his hands over his exposed penis.

Nathaniel gestured to Hank with the scissors, “Your turn Lieutenant Bear.”

Hank let out a low growl but passed Nines to Connor.

“Dad,” Connor whispered desperately.

“It’s going to be okay, son,” Hank replied back trying to comfort him the best that he could. He stood and walked over to Nathaniel wondering just how fast he could overpower the man.

“Buh, buh, buh,” Nathaniel produced the small remote from his pocket and grinned with a horribly gleeful expression. “Don’t do anything funny. Watch.” He pushed a button and suddenly both Connor and Nines’ bodies jerked with an electrical pulse and the pair screamed.

Nines awoke screaming in agony and clutched desperately at the closest being to him which fortunately happened to be Connor. He had been floating blissfully in the darkness until there was a spark and sheer agony. He felt Connor grabbing him and holding him close as if he could take his pain.

“Fuck!” Hank swore and made a move towards his boys only to be stopped by a dangerous look from Nathaniel.

He lifted his finger from the button and the electricity stopped. Nines and Connor gasped for air clinging onto each other.

“Any mistake you make and your boys will punished for if. Same goes to you Pretty boy.”

“Connor,” Nines rasped, “What’s happening?” He tried to move but his body protested sending shockwaves of pain through him. He looked over to see Gavin naked and on the ground and Hank slowly approaching Nathaniel.

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[Pr073c7 G@v1N]**

“Don’t look,” Connor told him softly, “keep your eyes on me, you don’t need to see this.”

**[D0n’7 L00k]**

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

Nines eyes focused on Connor’s comforting brown ones. “Connor,” he repeated hating the waver in his voice, “what’s happening?”

“Nines,” Gavin’s voice called out, “I love you, no matter what.”

“I love you too,” Nines replied wishing he could turn and see Gavin but Connor’s orders wouldn’t let him. His eyes pleased with Connor to let him look but his older brother simply shook his head holding back tears.

“How disgusting,” Nathaniel spat as he started cutting the clothes off Hank.

He bit his bottom lip and grinned as he ran a hand through Hank’s chest hair ignoring the threatening growl the lieutenant gave him. “With a body this size, I bet your cock is huge.”

Hank bit back a curse not wanting his boys to be punished for his mouthing off. He grit his teeth in anger as Nathaniel wasted no more time in getting his jeans off and shoving him towards Gavin.

“You,” Nathaniel ordered Gavin, “Suck him ‘till he gets hard. Make it nice and wet because it’s the only lube you’re gonna get.”

At that, Nines opened his mouth to yell and protest. Anything to keep Hank and Gavin from having to engage in sexual contact with each other. But Connor slipped a hand over his mouth letting the skin retract.

_“Nines, don’t.”_

_“Don’t? Don’t!? Connor they’re-”_

_“I know. But we need to find another solution. If we don’t let this happen Nathaniel is going to kill Hank and Gavin. We can’t protect them if they’re dead.”_

Nines looked at Connor desperately and unable to hold back his frustration. Connor was right. This, while it was the least favorable solution, was the optimal one for staying alive.

Gavin swallowed as Nathaniel positioned him in front of Hank’s flacid dick. As much as Gavin liked having a dick in his mouth he certainly didn’t want Hank’s dick in his mouth. Nathaniel had been right about one thing. Hank was fucking huge. He was fucking huge and he was fucking soft. Gavin knew that there was no way he was going to be able to fit Hank inside him.

“Hurry the fuck up,” Nathaniel snapped with his hand impatiently over the remote.

Gavin shivered and grabbed Hank’s dick shoving it into his mouth hoping to get it over with as fast as possible. He gagged as Nathaniel grabbed the back of his head and shoved his head forward forcing him to deep throat Hank.

Hank reached forward in shock to shove Nathaniel off Gavin only halting when he received a look of warning.

Gavin felt tears leaking out as he struggled to breath. At least Nathaniel had let go of his hair. He finally caught his breath and started moving. He placed his cuffed hands on Hank’s thighs steadying himself as he tried to create a steady pace. Hank’s cock grew hard in Gavin’s mouth and he felt the corners of his mouth starting to tear.

“That’s enough,” Nathaniel’s voice was rough with arousal. Upon glancing over Gavin noticed that the pervert was stroking himself. “Fuck him already.”

Gavin let Hank’s cock pop out of his mouth and he turned around letting Hank get on his knees behind him.

“I’m sorry,” Hank whispered and took a deep breath. He gently rubbed Gavin’s lower back trying to sooth him before the inevitable.

“Just get on with it old man,” Gavin ground out bracing himself.

Hank positioned his dick at Gavin’s entrance and pushed in slowly hoping to get Gavin to adjust enough so he wouldn’t tear.

Suddenly there were screams of agony from Connor and Nines. “You can make their pain stop by fucking him already!” Nathaniel taunted.

“Fuck, Hank just do it!” Gavin screamed not wanting to hear Nines in pain any longer. Hank pushed in all at once and Gavin’s vision went white with pain. He heard the loudest worst screaming he’d ever heard before realizing that the sound was coming from him.

“Gavin, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Hank pulled out fast and the screams from his boys filled his ears. Blood coated his cock and leaked down Gavin’s shaking thighs.

Nathaniel was laughing. “Keep fucking him lieutenant, I don’t know how much more pain those two can handle.”

Through the pain Gavin pushed himself backwards into Hank’s dick. He was in so much pain but his mind was focused on one person. Nines. He needed to keep Nines safe. Keep that pervert from touching him again. He would endure anything, _anything,_ to keep him safe. The one thing that Gavin was afraid of was losing Nines.

It seemed that Hank understood what was going through Gavin’s mind because he gently squeezed his hips and started thrusting fast. Gavin couldn’t stop the sobs or cries of pain that escaped him. Hank suddenly hit Gavin’s prostate dead on and he gasped as the pain minutely lessened.

“Fuck, Hank!” Gavin gasped as Hank thrust back into the same spot with a curious accuracy. Since when did Hank know how to fuck men? Gavin was eternally grateful that Hank was at least trying to make the experience as least painful as possible. He turned to look back at Hank who looked to be struggling with the fact that he was hurting Gavin.

Hank leaned over pretending like he was really into fucking the detective but really it was to whisper in his ear, “I’m so sorry.”

It was at the same time that Gavin managed to mutter, “How the fuck does a dinosaur like you know how to fuck?”

Hank was a little relieved to hear Gavin was trying to keep up some form of composure through humor. “Because like you said, I’m a dinosaur. You think I haven’t fucked or been fucked before?”

"Seriously," Gavin grunted out, "You've been fucked?"

"I like me some dick now and then."

Gavin let out a dry laugh trying to focus on the pleasure Hank was giving him.

Luckily, Nathaniel was so into watching and stroking his own dick he didn’t even notice that Gavin and Hank were having their own side conversation. “Fuck him harder, I want to hear him scream,” Nathaniel commanded continuing to stroke his dick.

Gavin leaned his head back bumping against Hank’s chin trying to communicate his trust in the old man. “Let’s put on a show.”

“Safe word,” Hank muttered into his neck glancing nervously at Nathaniel, “So I know I’m not hurting you.”

Gavin groaned loudly pretending that Hank had kissed him or some shit like that. That and he also couldn’t believe the next words out of his mouth. “I really fucking hate myself for this. Harder, Daddy."

Hank actually felt his arousal die. “That works… ready?”

Gavin gave a short nod and felt Hank slam into him. The hands on his hips pushed Gavin forward mimicking a particularly hard thrust and he cried out accordingly. “Stop,” he begged loudly, “Hank stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!”

“Don’t stop!” Nathaniel snapped. “Fuck him harder!”

"Oh god!" Gavin wailed a little over the stop, "Hank it's too much! Take it out! Please, stop!"

Hank obliged and continued with the fake thrusting causing Gavin to progressively get louder.

Nathaniel let out a groan and stood. He grabbed Gavin’s jaw sliding his cock inside his warm mouth. The man didn’t even have to thrust into the detective’s throat because of Hank’s movements.

Gavin resisted the urge to bite down and rip his dick off. Not while he had that stupid fucking remote.

“Cum in his ass,” Nathaniel ordered, “fill up that bitch!”

Hank squeezed Gavin’s waist trying to be as soothing as possible and kept pressing into the detective’s prostate. Soon he felt his orgasm building and knew Gavin was feeling the same way based on how the detective kept clenching around his dick.

Gavin groaned loudly spilling his seed onto the floor. The tightness around Hank’s cock coaxed his own release out and he filled Gavin’s bleeding hole with his semen. Hank’s seed stung Gavin’s insides but it was nothing compared to the burning of Nathaniel’s essence filling his throat and spilling out the sides of his mouth.

Nathaniel pulled out and clamped a hand over Gavin’s mouth. “Swallow.”

Gavin gagged and fought the urge to vomit as he let the rancid tasting liquid slide down his throat. Nathaniel pulled his hand away and Gavin collapsed bonelessly into Hank’s strong arms. He felt the warmth of his blood and Hank’s cum beginning to cool uncomfortably. But at the very least, he knew that Nines and Connor were safe for now.

Nathaniel walked over to the RKs and gently stroked the side of Connor’s face before looking down at Nines who’s tear filled eyes were still locked onto Connor. “Aren’t you so proud of them?” He asked mockingly and continued to stroke Connor’s face. “They did it all for you.”

He released Connor’s face and started stroking Nines cheek. “And for you.” Nathaniel’s hand suddenly went down and grabbed Nines right between the legs. Nines squawked feeling a sharp pain shoot up his spine.

“Stop!” Connor jerked Nines away as hard as he could successfully dislodging the man.

“No!” Hank exploded, “You said you wouldn’t touch them!”

“Mother fucker,” Gavin was screaming at the same time, “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Nathaniel smirked, “I already kept my word. While you were fucking, I wasn’t touching him. But now that you’re both done fucking, I don’t see a reason to not touch.” He grabbed Nines yanking him from Connor’s arms.

“Stop!” Connor yelled doing his best to keep his hold onto his brother but the fucking limiter plus the blinding pain from being shocked again kept him from being able to hold on.

Nines struggled in Nathaniel’s arms not wanting to be hurt and abused again. "Let me go! Let me go!"

“Whoops,” Nathaniel sang with a cruel delight and pressed a button on the remote.

The second the button was pushed, Connor’s vision cut out and he was left in darkness. Panicking he cried out, “Hank! Hank I can’t see!”

“Connor!” Nines kicked at Nathaniel managing to throw them off balance and send the pair toppling to the floor.

Nathaniel got the upper hand faster and pinned Nines’ arms above his head. He jammed a knee between Nines’ legs grinding into his bruised pussy.

“Apologize,” He growled, “apologize for misbehaving!”

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[Ap0log1ze]**

 

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[D0n’7 Ap0log1ze]**

 

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[Ap0log1ze]**

**[It’5 Y0ur FauLt]**

 

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[D0n’7 Ap0log1ze]**

**[It’5 N07 Y0ur Fau1t]**

 

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[AP0L0G1ZE]**

**[1T’5 Y0UR FAUL7]**

“I’m sorry!” Nines gasped hating himself for the words wishing he could fight back, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault!”

“Good,” Nathaniel growled and reached down to press a harsh thumb against Nines’ clit, “Tell me you’ll be good.”

“I’ll be good,” he whimpered.

“Louder.”

“I’ll be good!”

Nathaniel smirked and released Nines. “Stay put. And you know what, I want you to play with yourself. Make yourself feel really good.”

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

Nines felt like he was being stabbed. “Please,” he couldn’t help himself, “Please don’t make me do that.”

Nathaniel busied himself with dragging the kicking and screaming Connor to the table, “You assume you have a choice.”

Nines felt his hands moving of their own volition as his programming kicked in forcing Nines to start touching himself in a pleasurable manner. He didn’t want to be doing this. Not because some sadistic asshole told him to, and not in front of his family. He shut his eyes diving into his zen garden hoping for some kind of escape.

Nines could still feel every sensation, every pleasurable action he was forced to do to himself, but at least here he wouldn’t be able to see what he was sure were the looks of disgust on Hank and Gavin’s faces. His body trembled as he saw his own software instability breaking down his zen garden.The plant life had begin to shrivel and die as snow began to fall killing everything that it touched melting them away as it it were made of acid.

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

Without a doubt, Nines knew that once the zen garden was gone he would become a deviant. And for the first time in his life he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to deviate. Not from this. Not from trauma. Not like how most androids deviated. There were only two exceptions that Nines knew of. Connor, who chose to become deviant, and Simon, who deviated because he fell in love with his owner.

Nines had always dreamed of becoming deviant and all the ways he could. But in every scenario, Gavin had been involved. He wanted it to happen naturally. He wanted the stupid fairytale ending from all the books from Cole’s old books.

Nines never told Hank that he’d read them and fallen in love with the stores. He wanted to deviate because of true love’s kiss. Nines wanted Gavin’s kiss to break the spell. Break down his red walls and free him from the torment of his programming. But now, it all seemed like a dream. One that he was never going to get back. He was breaking and true love’s kiss was light years away.

Strong bindings restrained Connor’s wrists and ankles as Nathaniel forced him down. He heard a soft clicking sound and his vision came back. Immediately, he turned his head and saw Nines on the floor with tears in his eyes and his hand between his legs.

Connor recognized the blank look on Nines’ face as he was forced to finger himself. His little brother had disappeared into his zen garden. At the very least, Connor hoped that it provided the RK900 with some form of escape. He hoped that Nines couldn’t feel what was happening to him. Couldn’t see the tears of helplessness on Hank and Gavin’s faces.

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Nathaniel leaned over and whispered into Connor’s ear. “He begs so pretty too.” He stroked Connor’s cheek and the android jerked away from him.

Connor kept his mouth shut. He knew that anything he said would be ignored and depending on what he said, Nathaniel might be mad enough to take it out on someone else.

**[PROTECT NINES]**

**[PROTECT HANK]**

**[PROTECT GAVIN]**

Nathaniel’s hand wandered lower and cupped Connor’s new biocomponent. “You know, I was originally going to give you the cunt but your brother was just _begging_ to be punished.” He smirked and fisted Connor’s dick. “I like my partners small so yours is pretty cute. I can fit you in my whole hand.”

Connor winced as Nathaniel’s hand squeezed painfully.

“Sorry, did that hurt?” The man asked mockingly. He paused and then laughed. “Maybe I should have Lieutenant Bear fuck you.”

Connor’s eyes shot wide open (when had he closed them?) in fear. Hank? No. NO. Nathaniel wouldn’t, would he? His heart sped up and he began to panic. Hank wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of guilt.

“Nah,” Nathaniel sighed, “Unfortunately that’s not the type of thing that gets me off. If it was I would’ve had you fuck Robo-cunt already.” He let go of Connor and then pulled out the remote again fiddling with the dials.

Connor’s relief was short lived. Because suddenly it was hot. Really, really hot. Everything was just too hot. Like his systems were overheating. Maybe they were. Connor didn’t really know and he couldn’t tell. He could feel his cooling fans working overtime but all they really seemed to do was contribute to the burning heat that threatened to consume him. He hoped Nines was faring much better than he was. He couldn’t really hear anything over his fans. It was just too much.

Nathaniel pocketed the remote and wandered over to Nines. He grabbed the android’s wrist and pulled it away from his pussy.

Nines whimpered and tried to go back to touching himself because Nathaniel hadn’t given him an order to stop.

“Stop touching yourself.”

Nines pulled his hand away like it had burned him. When could this be over? Death was so inviting he hoped she would welcome him with open arms.

Nathaniel grabbed Nines by the hair and dragged him over to Gavin. “Sit on his dick and stay there. Keep your arms behind your back and don’t move.”

“Nines, don’t” Gavin pleaded, “You don’t have to do this. Don’t listen to that asshole.”

Tears dropped as Nines struggled to override Nathaniel’s commands and replace them with Gavin’s. It was starting to work-

Nathaniel cut itn, “Follow his orders and I’ll make sure he dies a slow and painful death. Him, and daddy dearest.”

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

**[PR073CT GAV1N]**

**[ **PR073CT D@d]****

**[F0110W N@THAN13L’5 0RD3R5]**

Nathaniel reached down and stroked Gavin to full hardness before guiding Nines down on his cock. Nines whimpered with pain. He was still so sore from the previous activity and he could still feel the disgusting fluid sloshing around in his stomach. Without meaning to, Nines glanced back at Connor who watched on helplessly.

Connor tried to reach out wirelessly to Nines but found that it was blocked. Ah, he’d forgotten about that. He was trapped within his own mind and it was miserable. Connor could only imagine just how horrible Nines was feeling. He was trapped in his mind 24/7 and couldn’t escape. With the added trauma he was sure Nines was in hell.

Nathaniel messed with the remote again and Nines felt like he was in literal Hell. If Hell was frigid that is. His limbs felt numb; a sensation that he didn’t realize he could experience. He remembered Gavin describing it as “pins and needle” but never actually understood the concept until now. He was also sure that Gavin didn’t literally mean pins and needles being shoved into his skin but that was exactly the kind of pain Nines was in. It was like he’s been shoved into a tank full of them and every time he moved they pricked at him drawing blood.

Nines had no fucking idea what Nathaniel’s plan for him and Connor was. He’d done something to Connor’s systems that made his older brother sweat and start gasping for air while Nines on the other hand, felt his teeth chattering to the point where his jaw was aching. He couldn’t even curl up into himself to try and warm up.

**[^ 50f7w@r3 1n57@b1L17y]**

“Hey,” Gavin whispered using his hands to cup Nines’ face the best he could, “I’ve got you. I love you.” His heart broke with every tear that fell from Nines’ face and dropped into his own.

Nathaniel saw and groaned with irritation. He grabbed the RK900 by the hair and yanked him off Gavin.

“No!” Gavin screamed, “Let him go!”

“Gav-” Nines was cut off by a pulse of electricity and his own screams. He could hear Gavin and Hank calling for him. A strong wave of static flooded Nines’ senses and he blacked out.

Hank and Gavin watched in horror as suddenly Nines went limp. “No!” Gavin scrambled to get to Nines while Nathaniel watched in amusement. Gavin scooped up Nines. His LED was red but at least he was still alive. For how much longer he wasn’t sure.

“Be good boys,” Nathaniel threatened and waved the remote, “The next one might kill him.” At their silence the man smiled and focused attention back on Connor.

Connor let out a soft whimper as Nathaniel approached him and started stroking his dick. “I wonder how loudly I can make you scream.” He leaned over and kissed Connor like a lover would. “I even picked up something special for you. Had it custom made.”

He pulled away and dug into the sex shop bag and produced an odd item that Connor had never seen before. Nathaniel undid a strap on Connor’s ankle and bent his leg to press against his chest. “This,” he said pressing the object against Connor’s asshole, “is called a pear of anguish.” He slid the thing in and Connor gasped feeling his insides stretch. It wasn’t painful just really fucking uncomfortable.

Nathaniel began fucking him with it while he explained its use. “Originally it was used to punish women by shoving in their deserving cunts. See the design is really unique. Like you. When the knob at the end is twisted, like so-” He twisted it and Connor yelped with the feeling of the device splitting open inside him, “-it expands until well, you’ll feel what happens.”

Connor’s heartbeat sped up and the heat continued to build. He panicked and struggled against Nathaniel. His efforts were to no avail because Nathaniel kept cranking the pear open until Connor was screaming. It was stretching him painfully and it _just kept going._ There was a sudden cracking noise and Connor let out an ear piercing scream. Blood was pouring out of him like a fucking faucet. The structure of his pelvis broke and the stupid fucking thing kept splitting him open. He could barely hear Hank and Gavin yelling for him and begging Nathaniel to stop.

Nathaniel stopped and let Connor cry and catch his breath. Then, he fucked him with it. Connor couldn’t stop the scream that ripped out of his aching throat. The electricity surged through his body creating glitches and sending sparks of static into his vision. His mind screamed for help unintentionally bring up his HUD.

**[C0mmUN1c@710n 5ysTeMS 0ffL1n3]**

**[7urN 0n Y/N?]**

**[ > Y3s]**

**[Acc355 D3n1-----]**

**[ > Y35]**

**[ACC355 Gr@n73D]**

**[C0mmUN1c@710n 5ysTeMS 0nL1N3]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy that was an intense one to write. So heads up, I'm out of the country for a couple weeks so I'll likely give you one more update before I go. If not, then my next update will be on the 7th of January. I love y'all!
> 
> *if there is a missing persons you DO NOT need to wait 24hrs. That's bullshit you see on TV (and in this fic because drama).


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines’ face was slammed into the floor with such brutal intensity that he felt his skull cracking. Blood poured out and his mouth and nose. Static was in his ears and everything was distorted. He knew based on the glitched out screams that someone was calling for him. He wondered vaguely if it was Gavin. No… it wasn’t Gavin because Gavin… Gavin was… was… Nines’ memory fritzed and he couldn’t remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hey I managed to squeeze out a new update! Sorry not sorry that it's short. I'm on vacation. But I will be back. Next week, because I'm not a monster. Enjoy!
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence.

Nines’ face was slammed into the floor with such brutal intensity that he felt his skull cracking. Blood poured out and his mouth and nose. Static was in his ears and everything was distorted. He knew based on the glitched out screams that someone was calling for him. He wondered vaguely if it was Gavin. No… it wasn’t Gavin because Gavin… Gavin was… was… Nines’ memory fritzed and he couldn’t remember.

**[M3m0rY C0rRup73D]]**

**[B3g1N r3C0v3rY?]**

**[ >y35]**

He thought hard trying to bring back- BLOOD. Nines remembered blood. So much blood. And Gavin. Hank? Blood and Gavin. Blood and Hank? Dad? Where was…? Gavin had been beaten. Hank had been… blood? Sharp things… Stabbed. Hank had been stabbed. For him. Hank had been stabbed for him. Gavin… what about Gavin? Gavin had… Gavin had been beaten. Beaten for him. Because… because why? Because… Nines struggled to hold onto memories that were slipping from his grasp like soap.

**[??073?? ?@v1?]**

**[?r073?T H@nK?]**

**[Pr073?T ?@v1N]**

**[Pr073cT H@Nk]**

**[Pr073cT G@v1N]**

Nines remembered. Gavin was dead. Hank was dead. And it was all his fault.

**[...]**

**[M3m0rY r3c0V3r3D]**

**[R3pl@Y?]**

**[ >y35]**

 

Nines awoke to complete darkness and someone snuggling him. Gavin. Asleep with his arms wrapped protectively around him making him feel safe. For a split second he forgot where he was and thought he was at home. At home and in bed.

Except he wasn’t. He was trapped in a small, cold, room with a psychopath just above them. His body hurt in ways he didn’t know it could hurt and his programming was all sorts of screwed up. Even his zen garden was falling apart. His sanctuary. The one place he thought he could be safe from his programming couldn’t even provide him that anymore.

Nines found Gavin’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He wanted some form of comfort and it was the best way he knew how. Upon further inspection of his current position he realized that the four of them were huddled in a corner with Hank and Gavin using themselves as shields. Both looked like they had been beaten to a pulp undoubtedly when he’d been unconscious.

Nines felt a pang in his chest and recognized it as guilt. (Thanks to Connor he figured out that particular feeling after the time Gavin was stabbed by the suspect resisting arrest.) He should’ve been the stronger one. After all that’s what he was built for.

“Nines,” Connor’s soft voice called out to him. The android turned his head wincing at the creak in his neck. His eyes widened when he saw Connor’s injuries. The lower half of his body was covered in blood and part so his frame were sticking out in odd places.

“I was able to re enable my communication systems,” Connor spoke before Nines could say anything. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it and based on the strain on his voice and the awkward position in which he was being held, the RK800 didn’t want to address the issue.

Nines swallowed and indulge Connor’s unspoken request, “Were you able-?”

Connor shook his head, “No the signal too weak. I need to interface with you. Maybe the two of us can boost the signal and we can send word to Fowler.”

In order to do that Nines had to let go of Gavin’s hand. As much as he didn’t want to do that, he needed to help get them hom. Nines let go and extended his hand towards Connor’s. The brothers let their skin retract and started an interface.

**[SIGNAL BOOST FROM RK900]**

**[SEARCHING FOR SIGNAL…]**

**[SIGNAL FOUND]**

**[INITIALIZING CONTACT…]**

**[MESSAGE: This is Detective Connor Anderson with Lieutenant Anderson, and Detectives Reed and Nines. We are being held captive by Nathaniel Flockheart. Current location is unknown. Our last known location was his residence. We are being held somewhere underground, possibly a basement. Please send backup and medical assistance as soon as possible.]**

**[SENDING….]**

**[MESSAGE RECEIVED]**

**[INCOMING MESSAGE]**

**[MESSAGE: Thank God! We’re ping-ing you location. Hang tight. -F]**

Connor and Nines retraced their hands with a sense of relief flowing through them. Everything was going to be okay. They were going to get out. Fowler was going to find them and they were going to go home. Nines could still have his fairy tail kiss. He couldn’t wait to get out, be repaired, and then make good on his kiss Gavin until he deviated. No more fucking programming. No more decaying zen garden. No more pain.

**[INCOMING MESSAGE]**

**[MESSAGE: We have your location. We’re on our way. ETA 20 Minutes. -F]**

Connor almost cried with relief. “They’re coming,” he informed Nines, “20 minutes.” He couldn’t wait to go home and bury his face in Sumo’s soft fur. He hoped the St. Bernard had been taken care of while they were missing.

Nines let out a deep breath and felt tears flooding his eyes. He stopped himself because they weren’t in the clear just yet. Twenty more minutes. Twenty more minutes and they would be free. They would go _home._

There was a sudden BANG from up the stair and Nathaniel’s scream of “MOTHER FUCKER!” Nines and Connor tensed as the sound woke Gavin and Hank.

“What’s happening?” Hank hissed.

Gavin immediately put himself in front of Nines as a human shield. Had Nines actually had access to his full strength he would’ve shoved Gavin out of the way.

“I gain access to my communication systems and send word to Fowler. They’re coming for us,” Connor answered fast and just in time too because the door slammed open and nearly off its hinges.

“WHO THE FUCK CALLED THE POLICE!?” Nathaniel raged and descended the stars. He held a fire poker in his hand.

Nines and Connor’s LEDs spun bright red. How the fuck did he know? Nines ran calculations in his head.

**[Pr073cT C0nN0r]**

“It was me!” Nines blurted out before anyone could reply, “I did it!”

“Nines, no!” Connor screamed, “Don’t listen to him, it was me! I repaired my communications, it was me!”

“He’s lying,” Nines pressed harder, “I am the superior model, I am the one who-”

Nathaniel didn’t actually care. He swung the fire poker at Nines but caught Gavin in the face instead. Gavin screamed with pain clutching his bleeding face.

“GAVIN!” Nines screamed. “NO! STOP!”

Hank dove towards Nathaniel, now in survival mode. The poker was sharp enough that if Gavin was hit the wrong way he was going to get killed. Hank made it within arms length of Nathaniel before the man swung again. But this time he caught Hank in the chest stabbing the poker straight through him. Blood was everywhere.

Connor and Nines screamed as the poker was brutally yanked out of Hank and the lieutenant collapsed to the floor. “DAD!”

“STOP IT!” Nines was screaming. He was on his feet in less than a second and trying to pull Nathaniel away from Gavin. Keep him from killing his partner. But Nathaniel didn’t stop. He pushed Nines away and sent him crashing into Connor. There was a sharp cracking sound from underneath him and Connor was screaming as his already fractured pelvic frame was crushed some more. Nathaniel dug the remote out of his pocket sending Nines and Connor into a fit of agony.

Nines writhed on the ground screaming and sobbing. He could only watch helplessly as Nathaniel beat Gavin with the fire poker over and over until the detective stopped moving. Finally, Nathaniel chucked the weapon away and stormed towards Nines and Connor.

“You little fucking cunts!” He grabbed Nines by the hair and slammed his face into the ground. Nines felt his skull cracking and there was blood covering the floor. Then he felt the absolute worst thing in the world. Nathaniel had his fingers shoved in the cracks of Nines’ head and the _pulled._ Nines screamed as parts of his skull were pried out of him and chucked to the side.

“I’ll solve that pesky fucking problem.” Nathaniel’s fingers were in his brain and Nines felt something detach. His ears exploded with a high pitched ringing and he lost all motor functions.

Nathaniel turned Nines head so he could watch in in horror as he bashed Connor’s face into the ground, pry his skull open, and remove their communications biocomponent completely. No more communications. No more interfacing. No more zen garden.

Connor’s body went completely limp but his eyes were still wide as they locked with Nines. There was so much fear evident on his face and Nines wondered if his own face was making that expression. He bet it was.

Around him he heard the faint hiss of a police radio and Fowler’s voice saying they were twelve minutes away. Then it all clicked. That was how Nathaniel had been avoiding police presence. He had a police radio and had heard all of their messages. That’s how he knew that they were being rescued. Fuck. Nathaniel was going to kill them all and make his escape.

Nines heard the sound of a gas canister being opened then the liquid being sloshed over the room. Fuck, he was going to burn them to death. Of all the ways to die, burning was probably a mercy compared to the others that had been slowly and torturously killed. At the very least, Nines prayed to rA9 he would go to the same place that Gavin and Hank were.

That hope was immediately squashed when Nathaniel lifted Connor’s limp body and carried him up the stairs. Nines felt his tears involuntarily dripping from his eyes and gathering on the floor. He wondered how much he’d have to cry before his body ran out of fluid. At this rate, it wouldn’t take very long.

“N-Nines,” Hank’s voice rasped out. Based on the sound, Nines knew that a lung had been punctured. It would only take minutes for Hank to bleed out and die. Minutes that he didn’t have. DPD wouldn’t arrive in time. Hank was going to die just like Gavin.

Nines wished he had access to his motor functions, namely his ability to talk. He wanted to tell Hank that he was sorry. That he loved him. Wanted to call him Dad at least once before the lieutenant died.

“I-” Hank’s voice rasped, “I lo-love you.”

Nines couldn’t even choke out a sob or noise to indicate that he’d heard Hank and that he loved him back.

“Tel-tell Con that-” He coughed wet noises and Nines felt like he was the one being stabbed, “-I love him, t-too.” There was more coughing followed by a wet breathing sound.

The door opened again and Nines was lifted up and thrown over Nathaniel’s shoulder like a sack. Nathaniel flicked open his lighter and tossed it down the stairs engulfing the room in flames. Nines sobbed as he watched the flames licking the bodies of the two people he loved so much.

Nathaniel carried Nines out of the house and deposited him in the bed of a pickup truck right next to Connor. The car drove away just as they saw the familiar flashing lights of the DPD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm an asshole and that is exactly where I'm leaving this chapter. :) Sorry that this one was short. But next update, I'll be back on my bullshit with longer chapters and more angst. 
> 
>  
> 
> For those of your worrying about Hank and Gavin... they'll be fine. Maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised an update today because I was on vacation. So here ya'll go. I'm also fucking terrible because this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer but I wasn't able to finish it in time. Which means this is technically chapter 5a (ie, the important part)
> 
> Also, sorry that it took me forever to reply to your comments.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Nothing really for this one.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Fuck!” Tina was out of her patrol car even before Ben stopped the car. The house was engulfed in flames but that sure as hell wasn’t going to stop her from running inside. Her best friend’s life was on the line and he could be dying.

“Tina wait!” Captain Allen shouted scrambling to get out of the SWAT van before she actually busted into the building. Too late. Officer Chen had already kicked down the door with Ben and Chris on her heels. “Why the fuck are you all so stupid!”

Tina coughed on the black smoke. Firefighters sure made this fucking shit look easy. She could see almost nothing. The fire was too much and too hot. It burned her uniform but she was determined to find Gavin and the others.

“Connor’s message said they were in a basement somewhere,” Chris helpfully supplied.

Tina nodded and immediately began to search the house for any sign of a basement entrance. She made it to the kitchen and screamed as a bean burned and fell in front of her. “Fuck!” She was starting to panic. The house was burning too fast and their chances of finding the four alive were dwindling.

“Over here!” Ben shouted.

Tina took off in his direction just in time to see him kicking down a door. Flames burst from the door sending ben flying backwards and landing in a burning pile. Chris grabbed him yanking him away but it was obvious that the man was too injured to continue.

“Get him outside,” Tina order, “I’ll radio when I find them.”

Without another word, Chris grabbed Ben and dragged the man away from the burning house.

Tina flew down the stairs hoping to find her friends alive. She was greeted by the sight of Hank, bleeding out and collapsed on top of Gavin as if trying to shield him from the flames. It looked like he was partially successful because more of Hank was on fire than Gavin was.

“They’re here!” Tina screamed into her radio, “Fuck they’re here!” She rushed to their side removing her coat and trying to quench the fire. “Hank, fuck can you hear me? Gavin?”

Hank only managed to give her a raspy groan.

“Where’s Connor and Nines?”

“-re..”

“What?” Tina strained her ears to get what Hank was saying but managed to realize that he was telling her that Connor and Nines weren’t there. “Shit, fuck! Okay. we’re gonna get you out of here okay! Just hang on. Don’t you assholes die on me!”

“Tina!?” Chris’ appeared at the top of the stairs and ran down to their side. Captain Allen was close behind him. The pair made quick work with getting Hank and Gavin to a position where they could support them.

Allen swung an arm around Gavin the best he could, “Chen you’re a right fucking moron and you’ll be suspended for this.”

“Go fuck yourself Allen and fucking help me!” Tina had Gavin’s arm wrapped around her shoulder and hefted the detective. “Dammit Gav,” She swore, “you’re such a fucking fatass!”

Tina imagined Gavin’s bite back, “Fuck you Chen. This is all muscle and you know it!” Once this was over, she expected him to tell her so.

“Hey!” There was a shout at the front of the house and two other officers, Wilson and Brown made their way to the basement.

Tina didn’t know the pair very well and despite being a raging lesbian, she could’ve kissed the men as they helped to get Gavin and Hank up the stars and out of the house.

Paramedics were waiting outside and ready to receive the pair. They were yelling medical jargon; none of which Tina understood. Whatever the damage, at least they were alive.

“Chen!” Fowler was at her side, “Where are Connor and Nines?”

“Not here,” Tina informed. “I think the perp took off with them.”

“Captain!” Officer Mars ran up to them. “Tire tracks in the back are fresh, we think-”

“Go!” Fowler ordered. Mars nodded and ran off to her squad car. Tina was about to go with Mars but Fowler grabbed her by the arm. “Get to the hospital. Get yourself checked out and then see to our boys. Mars and Dee can handle themselves.”

“But sir-”

“No arguments. Take Collins and Miller with you.”

Tina nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Fowler let go of Tina’s arm. “Chen.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Good work in there.” He gave her a nod of acknowledgment and Tina smiled grimly to herself. Gavin, she knew, would’ve done the same for her.

 

“C'est les autres,” Nines thought miserably as he tried to bring back his zen garden. He knew the true meaning of the phrase but at this point he was happy to take it out of context. Inevitably, he was going to die at the hands of this psychopath in the most painful way possible. Humans thought androids were monsters, but Nines had seen the true nature of someone who killed and tortured people for fun. In his opinion, humans were the true monsters.

Nines felt every bump in the road and the cold air stinging his skin. He used to like the feeling of the cold air especially because he associated cold air with the heat from Gavin’s skin, the fire pits Hank liked to build in the backyard, or the feeling of chasing a suspect. Both gave him a thrill that he couldn’t quite describe. But this cold was just that.  _ Cold.  _ Uninviting. Anger. Fear. There was nothing familiar or comforting about it. No Gavin. No Hank. No suspect to chase.

Well, Nines supposed, there was a suspect. But there wasn’t exactly an ensuing chase. The odds of him and Connor surviving were at a 34%. After the stunt that they just pulled there was no telling what kind of sadistic things the man had in store for them. Probably sting them up like the last victims and leave them someplace public. Somewhere where their desecrated and violated bodies would be found rather easily as if to tell the world that he was unstoppable.

_ “Stop it, Nines,” _ the android imagined Hank telling him,  _ “you’re thinking too much. If you get yourself all worked up then you won’t be able to concentrate on the here and now.” _

_ “Overthinking is preferable to here and now,”  _ Nines replied back to imaginary Hank.

Imaginary Hank tapped the side of Nines’ head, _ “Overthinking will lead to making here and now much worse that it already is.” _

_ “Nothing can be worse than this.” _ Nines mumbled back,  _ “Gavin is gone… you’re gone… soon Connor and I will be gone.” _

_ “I thought I was teaching you to be less pessimistic.” _

Nines replied back with simple ease,  _ “It’s part of my programming to always expect the worst case scenario.” _

_ “Nah,” _ Imaginary Hank argued,  _ “that’s got nothing to do with your programming.” _

Nines bristled,  _ “You’re a part of my programming. A construct of my mind palace.” _

_ “Ever wonder why it’s me?” _

_ “I do not understand.” _

_ “Sure you do,” _ Imaginary Hank replied,  _ “Who am I in real life? To you, anyway?”  _ Nines didn’t answer so Imaginary Hank continued,  _ “I- well, the real Hank- is your father figure. The one who teaches and guides you even if you don’t realize it. Looking out for you and helping you be as alive as you can be. I am a near perfect rendering of him. Maybe I’m here because you think Hank is still alive. You never scanned him or Gavin for life signs. You just assumed they died because that’s what you saw but you never confirmed did you? Besides, you really think that your stubborn ass dad would dare to leave you and Connor alone? How about Gavin? That stubborn asshole would fight to live out of pure spite.” _

A particularly harsh pothole found Nines jolting back into the real world as Connor’s body went flying into his. There were tears that dropped from Connor’s eyes onto Nines’ cold skin. Blood was pooling at an uncomfortable rate. Nines calculated that if Connor wasn’t repaired in the next hour, his brother would bleed to death.

“ _ I’m sorry, _ ” Nines wanted to say, “ _ This is all my fault.” _ What Nines didn’t know was that Connor was thinking the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me @ all y'all mother fuckers who thought I was going to kill Hank and Gavin: There's a reason "Major Character Death" isn't a fucking warning :)
> 
> Coming up in Chapter 5b: The rest of chapter 5a. I'll have it up this week don't worry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines’ chest was heaving with exhaustion. He couldn’t handle the pain any longer. Traitorously, he wished that Nathaniel had been pleasuring him just enough for it to be a distraction. Shame, he figured, was better than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised you chapter 5b and so here it is. Also, I'm very sorry that it's late. I'm sick as fuck and couldn't find the energy to actually write the rest of this chapter. Good news, half of chapter 6 is done so if I'm not still sick as fuck you'll get it next week.
> 
> Chapter warnings: Torture
> 
> Enjoy!

Tina pinched the Doctor that was tending to her injuries. “I’m fucking fine, piss off.”

“I will not ‘piss off’ you little shit,” Doctor Shani Amari snapped back, “Not when my fucking  _ wife  _ decides to run into a goddamn blazing building.”

“I’m not apologizing for that.”

“No,” Amari shook her head disapprovingly, “I don’t expect you to.”

Tina frowned right back, “Good, because I-”

“I’m not finished.” Amari cut in shutting Tina up with one glare.

“I expect you to apologize for making me worry about your moronic fucking ass.”

Tina grew quiet and she reached up to take her wife’s hand. “Shani, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you worry. I know you worry about me all the time, I just… the only thing I was thinking about was getting Gavin home. I don’t want to lose him.”

Amari’s face grew softer and she gave Tina’s hand a gentle squeeze. “He’s a fighter, my love, he’ll make it. And Ryan’s a good surgeon, Gavin’s in good hands.” She let go of Tina’s hand and went place to applying ointment on the officer’s burns.

Tina saw Fowler poking his head into the room before giving a gentle rap on the frame. “Doctor Amari, sorry to interrupt but may I have a word with Officer Chen?”

“You may,” Amaria replied but made no motion to leave. She looked at Fowler with a raised eyebrow as if to say, ‘I’m not leaving’.

Fowler took the hint knowing Amari was more stubborn than Gavin and quite honestly the woman terrified him a little. Mostly because he believed Amari felt he was responsible for Tina’s career choice.

The captain stepped into the room and walked to his officer. He simply shook his head, “You’re not going to like this.”

“Fuck!” Tina couldn’t hold herself back, “Motherfucker got away with Nines and Connor?”

Fowler took a deep breath, “Not just that. FBI is taking over.”

“You have to to be fucking kidding me! Those mother fuckers don’t give two fucking shits about what happens to them!”

“It’s out of our hands, Chen! Flockheart crossed state lines! Perkins is in tomorrow, I need you to play nice.”

“Bull-fucking-shit! Like fucking hell am I going to play nice!”

“Listen to me,” Fowler leaned close and dropped his voice, “I don’t like this situation anymore than you do. Those are our boys out there but my hands are tied. Yours on the other hand,-” Fowler leaned back, “-if I don’t know what you’re doing, I can’t discipline you for it. But make no mistake if I catch you, you will be placed on immediate suspension.” He gave a nod of acknowledgement to Amari and walked out.

Tina smirked and opened her fist revealing a flashdrive with the contents of the case. “Fowler, you sneaky bastard.”

 

The truck halted to a stop causing Nines and Connor to painfully whack against each other and then to the sides of the bed. There was a moment where all they heard was Nathaniel exiting the car and opening some kind of heavy door. The loud music that made Nines’ head throb indicated that they were by some sort of night club.

A moment later and he heard the door reopening along with another set of steps. It was an easy conclusion to draw that Nathaniel had a partner. Which, he realized, went along with their early theory that someone had to teach him how to properly execute his methods of torture and murder.

“Pick him up and be careful,” Nines heard Nathaniel instruct as a heavy blanket was draped over him, “I don’t want him bleeding out and dying. I’m not done playing with him yet.”

Ah, Nines was wrong. Nathaniel did indeed have a partner but was the dominant in the pair. Nines felt hands grabbing him.

“What about this one?” A voice who sounded very much like a WR600 model asked. That, Nines hadn’t anticipated. He assumed based on the lack of another human at the crime scene that Nathaniel’s partner wasn’t allowed to participate. Having an android as a partner was that missing link.

Nathaniel’s voice interrupted Nines’ speculations, “Put him on the horse.”

The RK900 felt his heart speeding up. He had no idea what ‘horse’ meant but was 100% certain whatever it was, it was meant to cause pain.

There was a horrifying feeling knowing that he couldn’t even guess what kind of horrors awaited him and Connor. Sure, Gavin was a kinky mother fucker but they’d never ventured into anything that could be even remotely defined as “hardcore”. Handcuff and spanking were just about as far as the pair could get. Nines hated the idea of deliberately causing Gavin pain. Besides, his partner was already self destructive as it was; Nines didn’t want to add to that in case something more came of it.

Nines couldn’t help but remember the first time that he’s seen Gavins self-harm scars. Ones that were only a few weeks old. Although, since Nines had seen them, Gavin had been doing well with telling him when things were getting a little to much for hm to handle.

The RK900 felt himself getting carried from the truck bed. Through a tiny crack in the blanket, Nines was able to make out the flashes of neon lights reflecting off wet asphalt. They were definitely in a club. Or at the least, Nines hoped so. Night clubs meant that Nathaniel could be reached either through purchases or through an eyewitness.

Nines felt himself being roughly dropped n a hard floor. He wished he could be vocal in some way but his head was still fucked up from when Nathaniel had bashed his face into the floor. A hard thump just above him confirmed that Connor had been placed on some kind of table. Based on Nathaniel’s earlier comment, it was obvious the man wasn’t trying to dispose of them; not yet. He came to the conclusion that the man was most likely going to try (or successfully) repair the damage. Though, Nines concluded, he was going to work on Connor first leaving Nines to suffer on this aforementioned ‘horse’.

The blanket was removed from Nines as soon as he heard a door closing as muting out the loud noises of the night club. That was when he good a good look at his surroundings. It was a back room of what looked to be a BDSM club. Bitterly, Nines had to applaud Nathaniel on his choice of location. Here, his and Connor’s screams would blend in with the other patrons having a good time. No one would think twice about what was happening to them.

Nines noted that Connor was indeed on a metal table surrounded by the proper equipment needed to repair and android. At the very least, he hoped Connor would be safe from harm. For a little while anyway.

The WR600 lifted Nines and dragged him over to a wooden, triangular shaped… thing, that stood a little over waist high. Above it, a metal bar. Upon closer inspection, the ride of the top was sharp and not meant to be comfortable. It was covered in traces of thirium and blood. This device was meant to split him apart.

Nines felt his heart racing with anxiety but could do nothing about it as the WR600 rested Nines on the device. He could feel the sharp edge already starting to cut into him. “Is he a machine like me?” Nines wondered while the WR600 chained his limp hands to the bar above his head, “does he suffer like I do?” 

He looked into the eyes of the WR600 hoping to convey some kind of message. Anything. Let this android know that he didn’t have to this. That he could help Nines and Connor instead of being subject to Nathaniel’s orders.

The WR600 met Nines’ eyes but didn’t give any indication as to whether he understood what Nines was trying to communicate. He simply watched with blank eyes before brushing stray bits of hair away from Nines’ face. The feeling made something lurch inside Nines. Was that deviant behavior? Was the WR600 somehow trying to fight against his programming? Perhaps, Nines speculated, the WR600 was a victim that had been reset and-

“Good work Ethan,” Nathaniel said popping into the room carrying a new box of latex gloves. “Now, get back to work and make sure I’m not disturbed.” Ethan gave a short nod and left the room.

Nathaniel tucked the box of gloves under his arm and went up to Nines. He gently stroked Nines before gripping his jaw in a bruising grasp forcing Nines to look him in the eyes. “You’re going to pay greatly for that little stunt you pulled.” He let go of Nines face and slip his hand across his shoulders, down his torso, and rested them on the androids hips. “The wonderful thing about human history is that we’ve never ceased in finding ways to hurt one another. And seeing as your kind is now a part of humanity, it opens up a whole new avenue to explore. Obviously, the methods I use have already been done before, but your reactions make it so…” Nathaniel leaned in and stole a violating kiss, “...delicious.”

His grip on Nines waist tightened and he yanked hard causing the chains to rattle and his weight to impale himself on the sharp edge. Involuntarily, his synthetic muscles spasmed and his voice box glitched letting out a pained wail. Nathaniel laughed and pushed down on Nines’ waist causing another wave of pain and a trickle of blue blood down his legs.

“Let’s see how long you can last, pet,” Nathaniel smirked and stepped away moving towards Connor and out of his line of sight.

 

Nines had no idea how long it had been since Nathaniel had him on the horse. His internal clock wasn’t something he had access to and he couldn’t even distract himself with his zen garden. He was so hyper aware of everything around him. The headache inducing club music which had long since passed (meaning it was after closing), the cold air that bit into his skin, the throbbing pain between his legs, the wetness of blood that dripped and pooled on the floor, and the soft tinkering sounds of Nathaniel fixing Connor.

Nines’ chest was heaving with exhaustion. He couldn’t handle the pain any longer. Traitorously, he wished that Nathaniel had been pleasuring him just enough for it to be a distraction. Shame, 

he figured, was better than this. Then, he heard Nathaniel sigh contentedly, picked up Connor and move him to somewhere that sounded soft. A bed, if Nines remembered the room layout correctly.

Nathaniel walked over and reappeared in Nines’ vision. “Ah,” Nathaniel sounded disappointed, “your pussy’s broken.” He reached down and rubbed at the broken biocomponent causing another flood of blood and lubricant to come streaming out. “I really thought that was going to last longer.” He continued to rub Nines’ clit causing waves of pain instead of pleasure. “Do you want a dick next? Or just a fuck hole?” Knowing full well that Nines couldn’t respond back he grinned. “Maybe I should just leave you open. That way you’ll feel everything that I do to you.”

He reached up and released Nines’ arms from the bar. The android fell face first into the sharp edge before toppling onto the floor. Nathaniel sighed like it was a huge inconvenience and he scooped Nines up into his arms. “Don’t cry sweetheart,” he whispered.

Nines hadn’t even realized he’d started crying and wondered if it was an automatic response to the outside stimuli.

“I’m gonna fix up your pretty little fuck hole,” Nathaniel placed Nines on the same repair table Connor had been on. “See you when you wake up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next chapter: plot related things. and the return of Hank and Gavin!
> 
> Tell me if you love Tina's wife. If you don't love Tina's wife then don't say anything. I love my POC wives.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor was afraid of what would happen. Would Nines self-destruct like a deviant?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this chapter is mostly Hank & Gavin- the end bit being Nines & Connor.
> 
> Chapter Warnings apply but it's not as graphic as the others. Next chapter though, oh mama... ;)

Hank had done a lot of waking up in the short amount of time amongst being kidnapped, raped, stabbed, burned alive, the surgery, and this very moment. He was getting sick of it. He was also getting sick of Jeffrey's questions. Well, rather one specific question.  _ Are you alright? _ He knew that Fowler (and the doctors) meant well but, fuck, he was sick of hearing it. Hank needed someone to stop keeping him in the fucking dark and let him help find his boys. But now that he was deemed a ‘victim’ and a ‘witness’ who was also ‘too personally involved’ he was essentially benched. 

Quite literally the only thing keeping Hank away from the case was the gaping hole in his chest and the intense pain that went through his body every time he moved. He had been told that he was lucky to survive seeing as his burns were not as severe as they could’ve been, coupled with the fact that if the fire poker had been an inch to the left it would’ve pierced his heart and he would’ve actually died.

Hank shifted and tried to sit up again only to feel a wave of agonizing pain sweep over him. It was nothing compared to the pain he was sure that his boys were currently enduring but it was enough that it sent the monitors beeping and a nurse to come running in.

“Mr. Anderson-” The nurse because before rudely being cut off by Hank.

“It’s Lieutenant.”

“ _ Lieutenant  _ Anderson, might I suggest-”

“No you may not. When can I get out of here?”

The nurse didn’t seem off put by his questions, only mildly inconvenienced. “Like I said the last twelve times, you aren’t ready to be discharged until Doctor Amari says you can. Either that or if you have someone who can take care of you at home.” She paused long enough for Hank to stew in his own anger. She gave him a short smile and then left.

Hank groaned in irritation and leaned back. Suddenly, the door opened fast and Gavin ducked in shutting the door behind him and securing it with a chair.

“What in the fucking hell, Reed?” Hank meant to sound irritated but he was actually relieved to see the foul mouthed asshole. He’d known that Gavin survived the fire and getting his face bashed in but it was a huge relief to actually see him.

“Glad to see you’re still kicking grandpa,” Gavin snapped back and went to the window testing the locks. “Even better they put your raisin ass on the first floor.”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Prison break, what the fuck do you think I’m doing?” 

Hank grinned.  _ Finally  _ someone else with some sense.

Gavin looked up and spotted an alarm. Easy enough to trick with a magnet. Finally something useful came out of the many nights he snuck out of his room while his drunk ass mother was raging. He glanced at Hank who hadn’t moved.

“What? Do you actually want to fucking stay here?”

“Don’t fucking insult me, dip fuck.”

“Then get off your ass.”

“I don’t know about you,” Hank grunted, “but I was stabbed through the fucking chest and-”

Suddenly Gavin’s expression changed and he stared at Hank, “You were?” They hadn’t told him. Of course not. Why would they have. “I…” Gavin looked horrified and uncomfortable even, “I… I didn’t know that. Hank, I-”

Hank picked up on Gavin’s distress. There was something more that the detective wasn’t telling him. Something that the doctors didn’t tell Hank because he wasn’t family. “Gavin,” he began slowly not wanting to freak him out, “is there-”

“I don’t remember anything,” Gavin blurted out. He stood awkwardly at the edge of Hank’s bed. “I mean I do remember but nothing about what happened. I just remember having the day off and I was going to spend it fucking-  _ watching movies  _ with Nines…” he paused to collect his thoughts, “I don’t know. I don’t remember anything after that. It’s all blank.” Gavin waited for Hank to explode at him for slipping up and saying he had planned on spending the day fucking Nines. Instead, he was shocked to see Hank completely calm- well as calm as he could be- about it.

“Didn’t the doctors or Fowler say anything about what happened to us?”

Gavin shook his head. “Docs won’t say shit about anything besides the fact that my fucking face was bashed in, Fowler keeps telling me to rest, and Tina- fucking bless her hoe ass- told me we were fucking kidnapped and burned alive. Also she mentioned a lot of details about your junk that I didn’t really care to know about.”

“ _ Fuck,”  _ Hank realized,  _ “he doesn’t remember what I did to him… that I…” _

“No one will say shit about what happened to Nines so I’m assuming that asshole-” Gavin stopped. Judging by the look on Hank’s face, Gavin drew to his own conclusions. He swallowed hard. “Hank… what- what happened to Nines?”

Gavin’s breathing picked up and Hank could tell he was on the verge of a panic attack. “They’re alive,” Hank tried his best, “the last time I saw Nines and Connor they were alive. And I think the perp wants to keep them alive for a little while longer anyway.”

“Time table?”

“A few more days as best.”

“Then let’s get the fuck out of here before that dipshit nurse comes back. You can climb out of a window, right grandpa?”

“The second I get up that machine thingy is going to alert the nurse and then we’re fucked.”

Gavin groaned and gave Hank his best look that clearly translated to ‘that’s what the chair is for!’

 

Amari glared at the pair and then peered over their shoulder to the nurse ready with a syringe to sedage both Hank and Gavin. “Get the discharge papers Gary.”

“-but!”

“If they’re well enough to climb out a window, then they’re well enough to leave.”

 

A good three painful hours later had Hank and Gavin busting into the DPD. Tina was up from her desk first quickly trying to get them out of sight.

“Tina, what the hell?” Gavin demanded.

“You guys can’t be here,” Tina hissed, “Captain’s orders.”

“Shani released us,” Gavin explained working his way around her.

Tina moved back in front of them, “I know that, I just mean that you both  _ can’t _ be here!”

“Bull fucking shit,” Hank growled, “we’re Nines and Connor’s- PERKINS WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?”

“Oh shit,” Tina whimpered and sprang after Hank who’d shoved her aside in favor of storming towards Perkins.

“What the fuck, Ti!” Gavin was going after Hank, “why the fuck didn’t you say that dipshit was here?”

It didn’t take long for Fowler to notice the commotion. “Ah, shit!” He growled and darted out of his office. “Anderson, Reed! Get the fuck out of here, you’re supposed to be in the hospital!”

“The hospital can kiss my ass!” Hank yelled, “What the fuck is this fucking prink doing here!”

“Oh,” Perkins drawled, “didn’t they tell you? I’m in charge now.”

“Like fucking hell you’re in charge!” Hank shot back. If it weren’t for the throbbing pain in his chest, he would’ve already taken a swing at the smug FBI asshole.

“Pervert crossed state lines and that means he’s in  _ my  _ jurisdiction.”

“Jurisdiction my ass!”

Fowler fumed and placed himself between Perkins and his detectives. “Anderson, Reed! Get the fuck out of here!”

Perkins only rolled his eyes and went back to addressing his agents, “We need to draw him out of hiding,” Perkins said, “we fake a press release saying that Anderson and Reed were killed. Get this bastard cocky enough to show his face.”

“Doing that might just spur him into killing Connor and Nines!” Gavin argued angrily.

Perkins turned to Gavin in irritation, “I can’t say I give a fuck.”

Gavin launched for Perkins to tear his smug ass apart but Hank grabbed him holding him back the best he could. “If you get fired or suspended we can’t work the case and we won’t be able to help them,” Hank hissed softly uncharacteristically calm.

“Too late for that,” Fowler cut in, “both of you are on medical leave and are not allowed to step foot in here until I say so. Officer Chen, escort them out.”

Hank and Gavin yelled and argued, but it did no good because Fowler’s unspoken ‘you’re fired if you try anything’ was strong. Tina pushed the pair outside hailing an automatic cab.

“Look,” she snapped, “I’ve been trying to tell you two morons but I have the case files ready for you to look at on a flashdrive. But-” she shot Gavin a look, “-they’re at my house. The cab will take you there.”

Gavin grabbed Tina and pulled her into one of his extremely rare hugs. “You’re a fucking saint!”

“Just don’t fucking get caught assholes. It’s my neck on the line too. You have my spare so ket yourselves in or whatever. Don’t let my fucking cat escape.”

 

“Can you bend down?” Gavin asked pulling Tina’s spare key from his pocket.

Hank scowled, “Ex-fucking-scue me?”

“Dill is going to fucking run for the door and you need to grab her before she escapes asshole- you know what nevermind. I’ll get her.” He shoved the key into Hank’s hand and bent down.

Sure enough, the second the door opened a black and brown blur came flying at Gavin and he captured the furball in one swoop.

“Impressive.” Hank opened the door only to find Doctor Amari waiting for them with a hot meal, and medical supplies. Gavin groaned but Amari held up her hand effectively stopping whatever words were about to come out of his mouth.

“Of course Tina told me. Besides, weather you idiots like it or not, I’m still your doctor and I refuse to let you go out and do stupid shit without receiving proper medical care. You won’t be doing your boys any favors by being dead. So sit down, shut up, and eat. Then, you can have the case files. And for fucks sake, close the fucking door you’re letting the fucking cold in.”

 

“I have an idea,” Hank said pulling up skype, “Connor and Nines are close with Robo Jesus and they happen to be from the same RK whatever so-”

“You’re thinking he has some kind of special connection with them?” Amari answered before Gavin had the chance.

“I was going to say that,” Gavin mumbled but let Amari have her moment. 

Hank simply nodded and pressed call. He hoped that Markus would answer. According to Connor (and every other fucking news outlet) Markus was in Canada probably doing some political thing with his blonde boyfriend.

A moment later and Markus’ face filled the screen. In the background, Hank could see the AX400, the one that Connor had said was named Kara, playing with a little girl and a hulking black man. 

“Lieutenant Anderson, what can I do for you?” Markus greeted, “Normally I would get a call from Connor if the police require my input. Is everything alright?”

“No,” Hank got right to it not wanting to waste time with pleasantries, “we need your help locating Connor and Nines. This psychopath, Nathaniel Flockheart- kidnapped them.”

Markus frowned, “I can do-”

“Nathaniel Flockheart?” The hulking black man with Kara lumbered into focus, “I know that name.”

Gavin, Hank, and Amari were all ears. “You do!?”

“Luther,” Markus addressed the man and gestured for him to join Markus. He moved aside enough for Luther to take up some of the screen but kept himself in view of the detectives. 

“I only recognize that name as one of Zlatko’s contacts,” the man explained.

“Zlatko, who is Zlatko?” Hank pressed.

“Dude who kept illegal android shit in his basement and ran experiments on them. Dark shit,” Gavin rushed with information, “killed by his creations in the front yard.”

Hank didn’t miss the wince from Luther or Kara sneaking away with the child. It didn't take much for Hank to deduce that the three of them had probably been involved in some kind of way. But, that wasn’t his focus. He needed to find Connor and Nines.

“I don’t know much about him,” Luther admitted, “but I do know that he and Zlatko used to kidnap Traci Deviants from an Eden Club. The one with an attached Nickles ‘N Pickles store.”

 

 

Nines held back a whimper as Nathaniel dug his foot into Nines’ abdomen forcing the vibrator to press into his bioprostate. He couldn’t help but with that Nathaniel had somehow fucked up his wiring so that a.) he wouldn’t be able to feel anything or b.) just flat out killed him. Dark thoughts, mostly. But seeing as he wasn’t built with a stress indicator, Nines was left to his own devices. 

Part of Nines wondered why CyberLife didn’t bother with giving him any way of measuring stress- he figured it was because he wasn't designed to deviate. And why would a machine feel stress to begin with? Nines used to love this fact about himself because it made him a little bit more human; having to figure out his own stressors by himself and wondered what would happen if he hit his peak. Would he self-destruct like a deviant or would he be like Gavin where he would lash out and fight?

Nines curled into a ball as another swift kick flashed away his skin exposing his chassis. He was betting more on self-destruction than fighting. There was another swift kick to his jaw and Nathaniel was on top of him in an instant.

“I told you to lie still,” the man growled and reached down twisting Nines’ new biocomponent. Apparently, Nathaniel had found it amusing to give him the penis component he’d taken from Connor during repairs. Which then left Connor with just an asshole and flat groin plate. Nines figured that’s what Nathaniel had meant by ‘just a fuck hole’ and while he was glad that it wasn’t attached to him, he felt worse knowing that it was attached to Connor.

**[Pr073c7 C0nN0r]**

The order glitched in his vision. Nines felt a pang in his heart. All he wanted was to go home. To forget about this pain and the abuse that he and Connor were suffering at the hands of this maniac. He wanted to curl up with that stupid fluffy blanket that Gavin reserved for rough days and be smothered by his boyfriend’s horrendously named cats.

There was a slight knock and the door opened. Nathaniel ripped the vibrator from Nines and chucked it at the intruder. “What the fuck!? I told you not to interrupt me!”

“This is important.” The WR600- Nines really had to find out what his name was- entered and picked up a tv remote. He pointed it at the wall, turned on the holographic tv, and flipped it to the news.

The reported seemed to be in the middle of the story but it was the image of Nathaniel’s burning house that caught Nines and Connor’s attention. “We’ve received information that two police officers perished in the fire a few days ago. Their names have not yet been released. We go live now to FBI Agent Perkins for a statement.”

A few days ago? Nines completely froze. Gavin and Hank? They were… gone? Gavin was dead? His partner? The one person outside of his family that Nines knew he loved and wanted to spend his life with was… gone? And Hank? His father? The man that Nines so desperately wanted to call dad was also… gone. Dead. Taken away by this psychopath hell bent on making him suffer.

Nines’ vision was starting to glitch out and his whole body felt heavy. Like he was being weight down. He could feel that familiar feeling of the red walls coming up and encasing him thicker than before. Heavier than before. Closing him off from the world but instead of red wall they were black. Massive black and gray walls coming up and closing him off from the world and suffocating him but… that was fine. Nines didn’t care. There was nothing left to fight for. Nathaniel would kill him. Connor would soon die. Their bodies would be thrown in a junkyard or posed somewhere for the police to find them. Nothing mattered. Gavin was gone. Hank was gone and Nines… Nines let the black walls consume him.

 

 

Connor stared in horror at the press release. That… it couldn’t be true. Gavin and Hank were… gone? No. Impossible. And Perkins? The FBI? Why were they involved? Why would he be doing the press release if it was a DPD case? 

“If you have any information on Mr. Flockheart, please inform the tip line. That will be all, thank you.” Perkins exited the frame with the reporters shouting questions after him,

Connor ran the calculations in his head. Hank and Gavin had been hurt, yes, but they had survived, right? There was no way the press would’ve released that information so late unless… ah. It was a tactic that the FBI were using to draw him out of hiding. Connor had seen it once before when he was casually browsing old case files.

He heard Nathaniel laughing in the background but the shock was too much to handle. It sounded like the tactic was working. Soon, the RK800 figured, Nathaniel would slip up and make a mistake. Preferably before he got bored and decided to dispose of them. Connor looked at Nines. His little brother’s LED was bright red and he was shaking. Terror suddenly struck Connor because he had no idea how Nines would handle this.

There were no stress levels to read because Nines was still a machine and machines couldn’t be stressed out. Connor was afraid of what would happen. Would Nines self-destruct like a deviant? He locked eyes with his little brother hoping to find some indicator of what was happening but… there was nothing. Nines wasn’t self destructing. He wasn’t doing anything. There was nothing. There was nothing in his eyes. Nothing to indicate distress or anxiety.  Nathaniel was gloating and had his arms wrapped possessively around Nines. Instead of reacting, there was simply nothing.

There was a flicker of hope in Connor that maybe Nines had come to the same conclusion that he had. That Hank and Gavin were still alive. That hope died when Nathaniel sighed in delight and grabbed Nines by the hips easing him onto his cock. It was then that Connor realized that Nines had just… shut down. There was no spark of fear or pain in his eyes. They were glassed over with empty tears rolling down his cheeks. His arms hung limply at his sides and his body flopping bonelessly as Nathaniel used his body completely unaware of Nines’ complete emotional shutdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Tina & Amari's cat is named Dill. Short for Dillweed.
> 
> Coming up next chapter: Hank and Gavin go to the club to hunt down their boys! And more angst.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A voice- the voice that Connor had been longing to hear for so long echoed down a hallway. Hank. It was Hank. he was here and he was going to rescue him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday or whatever day it is that you're reading this! Sorry this update took forever but I made it up and this one's a long one. Also I had a weird existential crisis along with a shit ton of anxiety soooo yeah. Enough about my BS, go read the chapter.
> 
> Chapter warnings: gangbang/rape, more medieval torture, femme words for genitalia
> 
> Enjoy!

“Nines?” Connor whispered softly brushing hair away from his brother’s empty face. No response. Nines’ eyes were blank and glassy staring off into the distance. “Nines,” Connor tried again, “please answer me.” His voice cracked and tears started to fall. He hated seeing Nines this way. If it weren’t for the simulated breathing and steady red LED, Connor would believe that Nines was dead.

Nathaniel had left some time ago, annoyed and bored after noticing Nines’ lack of reaction to any kind of stimuli. Pain or pleasure. Connor had screamed and begged Nathaniel to leave Nines alone as the man threw his little brother around like a rag doll trying to elicit any kind of response. Eventually, he grew tired and dumped Nines on the floor leaving a bloody mess.

Connor had crawled over and did his best to clean Nines to the best of his ability. All the while, the RK900 was limp allowing Connor to do whatever he needed to do. Connor wished that he could interface with Nines and just see what was going on inside his head. Comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be alright. He was going to protect them.

In the corner of the room, Connor spotted the blanket that had been used to cover them when Nathaniel had first brought them here. He retrieved the blanket and draped it over Nines tucking him in the best that he could. 

The action reminded him of Hank and it sent a pang of longing through him. He remembered the first time it happened because it was the same time that Connor found out that androids were capable of dreams. Pre-constructions, reconstructions, and memories running algorithms at the same time and creating new image sequences that Hank easily described as an ‘android dream’. Connor remembered the fear he had felt when his nightmare showed him a world in which the android revolution had failed and he’d remained a machine. Afterwords, the anxiety had him crawling into Hank’s bed seeking comfort. And Hank hadn’t turned him away or laughed. Instead, he found a fuzzy throw pillow in the linen closet and bundled Connor up. It was a comforting gesture that he now hoped would bring some comfort to Nines.

Connor shut his eyes imagining the hug he would give Hank once they were free. He wanted to crawl into Hank’s bed again no matter how childish the action was because Hank was safe. Hank didn’t hurt and Hank would never hurt him. He wanted to be that for Nines right now. Nines was catatonic and Connor wanted to be his safety. He wanted to be the blanket that covered Nines and protected him from the pain and the hurt.

The sound of footsteps sent Connor’s heart racing and he instinctively placed himself over Nines to shield him if Nathaniel were to walk into the room. Instead, the the WR600 opened the door to check on them before shutting and locking the door.

As the lights shut off a light turned on in Connor’s head. The WR600. That was it! Their key to getting out. Connor recognized the way the WR600 had moved, his speech patterns and behaviors. He wasn’t deviant which meant that if he could get the android to deviate, he could potentially lead them to freedom. He could get them out of this hellhole. They would be free and they could close the case. No more victims.

Exhaustion seeped into Connor and he lay down next to Nines wrapping his arms around his brother. “It’s going to be okay, Nines,” he whispered pressing Nines’ head to his chest, “Hank and Gavin aren’t dead. They’re okay. They’re coming for us. And I have a plan too. I’m going to protect us. Just sleep now, it will be okay.”

 

_ Hold on just a little while longer _

_ Everything will be alright… _

 

“Ow ow ow, mother fucking son of a bitch-” Hank clenched his fists and breathed hard through the fist he’d shoved in his mouth to avoid waking up the whole damn house. While it was incredibly kind of Tina and Amari to let him and Gavin stay in their house- though realistically Hank felt it was more like Amari was forcing them to stay with them or else she’d properly drag them back to the hospital and that was something he didn’t want.

All Hank wanted to do was use the fucking bathroom but standing and walking two feet from the guest bedroom proved to be the bane of his current existence because of the fucking hole in his fucking chest. Gavin on the other hand was suffering from headaches which he refused to tell Amari about. The only reason Hank knew was because the stubborn asshole had nearly fainted when Amari had left to go pick Tina up from work.

“Hank?” Amari called from her and Tina’s bedroom, “I hear you walking, are you alright?”

Fuck how the fuck did she hear him? “I’m fine,” Hank called back through gritted teeth. He wished the hospital had given him better pain meds. Hank cursed silently when light streamed into the hallway and illuminated his pale, sweaty, and pain twisted face.

“Dammit,” she growled and went to his side immediately checking him over, “you need to tell me when you’re in pain or else you’re no good to anyone.”

“Don’t die in my fucking house asshole!” Tina yelled from the bedroom, “I can’t live in a haunted house!”

“Bite me, Chen!” Hank yelled back.

“So Hank’s not allowed to die in your house but I am!?” Gavin yelled from the couch.

There was a laugh and Hank could  _ hear  _ the smile in Tina’s voice, “Eat shit, Gavin!”

Amari scowled, “All of you go back to bed right fucking now!”

“I love your big dick energy, my love!” Tina shouted.

“BED!” Gavin and Tina fell silent but their snickers could be heard throughout the house. Hank wanted to laugh as well but it hurt too much. He wanted to laugh properly and promised himself that he would as soon as his sons were back in his arms.

Amari sighed and went back to helping Hank reach the bathroom. “Fuck, I’m old,” Hank grunted softly and sank down on the toilet seat wishin he didn’t need assistance.

“You are old,” Amari admonished, “but you were also stabbed. You need to take it easy.”

“Connor and Nines can’t afford for me to take it easy,” Hank replied back.

Amari went silent. She squeezed his shoulder before departing. “Call me when you’re finished and I’ll redress your bandages. And for fucks sake, say something if you’re in pain this time.” She didn’t wait for a response and shut the door.

 

\\\\\\\

 

“I thought you quit?” Hank spoke not really wanting to spend their car ride to the club in silence. He needed to talk or at the very least fill the car with conversation. If he didn’t then he’d be thinking about all the ways that Nathaniel was hurting his boys. And all the ways they’ve already been hurt. His only saving hope was that their bodies hadn’t been found which mean there was a large possibility that they were still alive. But it also mean that their window was closing fast. Sooner rather than later, Nathaniel was going to get bored and kill them.

Gavin took a long drag and blew out smoke, ”Don’t tell Nines.”

“He’ll know anyway.”

“Yeah, he will,” Gavin reached into his jacket and wordless offered Hank one.

Hank took it knowing that his sons would scold him for it anyway. He didn’t realize how much he missed their constant nagging about his health. The conversation stopped there.

 

They arrived at the club a few minutes later. It wasn’t anything special, in fact it was just like every other Eden Club in Detroit. Caked in glitter, smelled of artificial perfumes, and oozed with sexual energy. Even during the day and way too early in the morning to have as many patrons as it did. 

Surprisingly, during the evacuation post-revolution, the Eden Clubs had been the ones to stay open and offer their services (not in the sexual sense) to androids who needed it. And even before Markus’ peace talks and the change in law requiring androids to be paid, it was the Eden Clubs who jumped first and paid their employees including full benefits; whatever that meant to androids. 

The automatic doors opened revealing dancing androids- no longer in tubes- and irritatingly loud music. They were instantly greeted by a WR600. Hank found it a little odd that a gardening android would be in an Eden Club. But who was he to judge. A lot of Traci models went on to do other things outside of sex work while other models with upgrades went into the sex industry.

“Hello,” the WR600 greeted, “My name is Pauley, how can I assist you gentlemen?”

Gavin cut right to the chase, “Detective Reed, we’re looking for two androids. RK models. We have intel that they’re here. So give them up or-”

“Excuse my partner,” Hank cut in stepping in front of Gavin, “We’re just here to look around. Two RK police officers have gone missing and we have a lead that this establishment might be involved in their disappearance.”

Pauley seemed troubled but he nodded, “Of course officers. Feel free to look around. We have nothing to hind. But according to my memory banks, and I have spectacular memory banks, there have been no RKs who passed through here.”

“Yeah,” Gavin scoffed, “right.” He pushed passed Pauley and into the main room. Several androids danced on poles and gave them sparing glances but nothing suspicious stood out. “This place is too clean,” he muttered to Hank peering into an empty red room.

“We pride ourselves on being a sanitary establishment,” Pauley answered with a bright smile.

Gavin stepped away in irritation. “Do you have to stand that close?” He snapped, “Personal space. Back off.”

Pauley stepped back, “My apologies officer-”

“ _ Detective. _ ”

“My apologies, Detective Reed. But I am under the assumption that those who come in here are in seek of close proximity to those with special services.”

“Well you assumed wrong.”

Meanwhile, Hank was poking around towards the back. He remembered one of his first cases with Connor at the Eden Club. There was a back door and a maintenance room. The one he had seen before was certainly large enough to hold multiple kidnapped androids. Connor and Nines could be there.

Carefully he creaked open the door and saw the familiar back of Nathaniel disappearing into the maintenance room. Gotcha.

“What’s behind his door?” Hank demanded hoping that the WR600 would be ignorant and actually lead them into the room. If not, then he had to play it safe. If he didn’t then it would spell all their deaths.

“It’s a private room,” the WR600 explained, “unfortunately I cannot let you as there is a patron inside. However, I can allow you to wait until their session is over and you are free to explore the room as you like. There is no judgement here. It is $30 for-”

There was a loud thump in the middle of Pauley’s sentence which the WR600 tried to compensate for by bumping the volume of his voice. Hank pretended not to hear and Gavin was too worked up to actually hear.

“We’re not interested in having sex,” Gavin snapped, “we’re fucking here for our partners.”

“Yes, my apologies,” the WR600 did a decent job of sounding confused, “when you said partners, I assumed-”

“What are you stupid?” Gavin sounded more than pissed.

“Detective!” Hank hissed, “leave it. We’re done here. Thank you- Pauley.”

“My pleasure! And when you think of-”

Hank cut off Pauley before he could finish, “We don’t need the tagline, thanks.” He grabbed Gavin and practically dragged the detective outside.

“What the fuck, Hank!” Gavin nearly exploded the second they were in the car and heading back to Tina and Amari’s place. “Nines could’ve been in there! We just needed-”

“They’re definitely there,” Hank answered as calmly as possible. “I saw Nathaniel disappearing into the room. I don’t trust that Pauley character and he didn’t want us in that back room.”

“YOU SAW HIM!? Hank! We could’ve-”

“We don’t have backup,” Hank growled, “and in our state versus an android designed for manual labor along with Nathaniel? We’d be killed fast and so would Nines and Connor.”

“He could be killing them right fucking now! Turn the fucking car around!”

Hank grabbed Gavin’s upper arm hard, “They’re not going to be killed. That egotistical asshole thinks he just got away with hiding Connor and Nines. He’s going to gloat and become overconfident. That’ll lower his guard and that’s when we strike. We know where they are now. All we need a plan of attack.”

Gavin grunted hating the fact that Hank was right, “We can’t go back to the station Fowler would have our asses. And Perkins would laugh in our faces.”

“Exactly. We need Tina’s help. Have her send out an officer we can trust to stake out the place and make sure that Nathaniel doesn’t leave.”

 

////

 

It was odd that Nathaniel hadn’t once come back. Connor, for the first time in a very long time, awoke to silence and nothing. Nines was still cradled gently in his arms. His eyes were open but still staring at nothing. Connor waited about an hour for something to happen. But nothing did. Nathaniel didn’t appear nor did the WR600.

This was it. Connor’s chance to get them free. Very gently, Connor eased himself away from Nines. He was gentle and rearranged his brother hoping he was still comfortable. “I’m not leaving you,” he reassured and stood on wobbly legs. The strength limiter was really getting in the way and each day it seemed like he was getting weaker. He wasn’t sure if that was due to the limiter or the fact that he and Nines hadn’t had a proper charge in days.

Connor wobbled over to the metal table that gave him nightmares and flipped open the box of tools. Doing a repair on himself was going to be hard since he couldn’t see what he was doing, but at least he knew his own inner workings that it should work. All he needed was to get short range communication systems back online along with his interface. At least that way he’d be able to scan and interface again. And doing that meant the definite possibility of spreading the deviancy virus to the WR600. He prayed to rA9 that he’d have enough time to fix himself and then fix Nines.

Connor took a deep breath and very carefully he detached the plate in the back of his head. Feeling around he was able to locate his damaged component fairly quickly. Now, it was just a matter of snapping it back into place and running a quick calibration. It was then that Connor felt something else unnatural in his skull. The new component was smooth and when he brushed his fingers over it, it sent a jolt of pain straight through his brain. Connor cried out and his knees pitched to the floor as static filled his vision. That, he concluded, must be the new installment that allows him to feel pain.

The RK800 steadied himself and reached back into his head to yank the thing out. Another brush of his fingers and Connor was writhing on the floor and biting his tongue to keep himself from screaming. Fuck that. He waited until the pain was reduced to a dull throb. The pin component could wait. He needed to get his interface back online. Once they were rescued, he could get a technician to remove the fucking thing.

Reaching back into his skull and carefully avoiding the pain component, Connor gingerly felt around for his interface chip. Locating it, he took a steadying breath and snapped it back into place. All at once his vision glitched out and notifications began filling his vision fast. It was so overwhelming but in a good way. Connor hadn’t realized how much he missed it until that moment. There was a clatter from outside the room and Connor panicked. He didn’t have the time to fix his short range communications or Nines. Fuck. He slid his skull panel shut, grabbed the tools and stashed them, careful to make sure that everything was as it had been.

Connor darted back to Nines and wrapped his arms protectively around his brother pretending to still be asleep. It was only moments before the door opened that Connor was able to slow his thirium pump enough to make it believable that he was sleeping.

“Little fucking shits!” Nathaniel’s voice came out in a angered whisper making Connor wonder why the man was whispering.

He help tighter to Nines now unable to hide his shaking. Nathaniel shut the door as quietly as possible and locked it. He approached Connor and grabbed the android by the hair and yanked him away from Nines. 

Connor panicked. Nathaniel knew what he had done and now he was going to be beaten or killed for it. Or worse, he was going to punish Nines for it. Connor  braced himself for the blow that was sure to come. But then, “Those fucking cunts are fucking liars!”

What? Connor dared to crack an eye open suddenly curious about what Nathaniel was talking about. At least Nathaniel didn’t know what he had done. Not yet anyway.

“And back there?” A voice-  _ the  _ voice that Connor had been longing to hear for so long echoed down a hallway.  _ Hank. _ It was Hank. he was here and he was going to rescue him.

“HAN-” Connor immediately screamed but was cut off by Nathaniel grabbing his throat and stopping his vocal component from functioning.

“Since your corpse brother can’t speak I have to make sure that you can’t either,” Nathaniel dragged Connor kicking and struggling towards the back of the room. No! Connor couldn’t afford to be silenced. Not when Hank was so close. So close to freedom. He kicked and struggled as hard as he could but Nathaniel remained stronger.

He was able to subdue Connor with one arm while digging through a box until he pulled out a device that was oddly face shaped. Nathaniel wrestled with Connor until he was able to shove part of the device into his mouth effectively depressing his tongue and keeping his mouth open at an impossible width while the rest of it was strapped around his face.

Nathaniel dropped Connor to the floor. The android scrambled to find the release and scream for help. Nathaniel only rolled his eyes and went back to searching the box undoubtedly for another instrument of pain.

Connor took the opportunity and bolted for the door. If he couldn’t scream he’d have to make as much noise as possible. He slammed himself against the door as hard as he could.

“What was that?” Gavin’s voice interrupted whatever the WR600 was saying. “It sounded like it came from over here.” His voice got louder and Connor was ready to slam himself against the door again except for Nathaniel grabbed him and slammed him into the ground.

His arms were painfully wrenched behind his back and Connor whimpered into the metal gag. Spiked handcuffs attached themselves around his wrists immobilizing him. “You are going to pay very dearly for what you’ve just done.” Nathaniel hissed. “And so will your brother.”

Connor cried out as loud as he could as he saw the shadows of both Hank and Gavin appearing in front of the doorway.

“What’s behind his door?” Hank demanded.

“It’s a private room,” the WR600 explained, “unfortunately I cannot let you as there is a patron inside. However, I can allow you to wait until their session is over and you are free to explore the room as you like. There is no judgement here. It is $30 for-”

“We’re not interested in having sex,” Gavin snapped, “we’re fucking here for our partners.”

“Yes, my apologies,” the WR600 did a decent job of sounding confused, “when you said partners, i assumed-”

“What are you stupid?” Gavin sounded more than pissed.

“Detective!” Hank hissed, “leave it. We’re done here. Thank you- Pauley.”

“My pleasure! And when you think of-”

Hank cut off Pauley before he could finish, “We don’t need the tagline, thanks.”

Connor felt his heart sinking as Hank and Gavin’s footsteps faded. They were gone. Their freedom had been so close and it slipped right out of his fingers. If only he’d been able to fix his short range communications he could have at least been able to reach Hank or Gavin’s cell phones. But as it was Connor could only rely on Hank and Gavin’s detective instincts to know that something was wrong.

Nathaniel let out a breath of relieved laughter. “You- oh, you were almost free.” He continued to laugh as tears dripped from Connor’s eyes and pooled on the floor. Nathaniel let Connor cry as he went back to digging around the box for the device he was looking for.

He returned to Connor’s side and kicked him on his back causing the spikes to cut into his wrists. “This,” he said brandishing the small clamp, “is your punishment.” He slip open Connor’s groin panel and used the clamp to twist a wire and break it before capping it off. The panel slid closed and Connor was confused about what was happening.

The man produced a small vibrator from his pocket and switched it on placing it against Connor’s clit. Immediately his body jerked with the stimulation and he whimpered arching his body away from the vibrator. Nathaniel laughed but removed the vibrator but only for a brief second. He went to the toolbox, found medical tape, and then taped the vibrator to Connor’s clit. 

Now, no matter how much Connor struggled and bucked his hips, he wasn’t able to get away from it. Connor whined and tried to focus on the pain of the spike digging into his wrists rather than the mind numbing and trateroud pleasure that coursed from between his legs.

Nathaniel stood back to admire his handy work. “I wasn’t planning on playing with you until later but, I’m glad I did. Now, be a good boy and don’t cum while I prepare your brother for tonight’s event.”

Connor felt panic flooding through him. Tonight’s event? What in fresh hell was Nathaniel planning? He didn’t have to wonder long because Nathaniel answered him.

“I was going to celebrate the death of your daddy and your friend by being… generous. A one night only affair where you boys get to be shared with select clientele. But seeing as they’re not dead, I think I’ll just make it a free for all. Anyone can come and fuck your holes loose. Or break them for all I care. A great big  _ bang  _ before I kill you.”

Nathaniel lifted Nines onto the metal table and spread his legs and detached the groin panel. “I’ve fucked your brother loose and I need him tight again.” He smirked and turned to Connor, “That and I have a special modification for him.”

Nathaniel turned up the vibrator and Connor’s body jolted. He whined and sobbed and the man sighed contentedly as if he were listening to a song on the radio. The arousal was building so much and Connor felt like he was going to burst with pleasure. He had a slight idea of what he must look like. Gagged with drool leaking from his mouth in obscene amounts, handcuffed, and writing on the floor chasing pleasure like it was the only thing he knew how to do. He knew he must look like a debauched mess exuding shame with every aborted thrust of his hips.

The pleasure was building and it kept building never reaching a peak. Connor whined and whimpered trying so hard to get his body to orgasm but never being able to. It was only then that he realized what Nathaniel had done to him. He was unable to reach orgasm until the wires were reconnected. He’d be stuck like this until Nathaniel decided that he was going to reattach them. Connor sobbed with the realization that he was stuck and at the man’s complete mercy.

 

////

 

Hours later, Connor was draped over a hard bench with his ass in the air displayed for everyone in the room to see. His hands were no longer cuffed behind his back but cuffed to the legs of the chairs. The stupid gag, which he be been informed was a modified version of a device called a Scold’s Bridle, remained in his mouth. The vibrator had been long removed but it didn’t stop the swirl of arousal. Instead of building it had simply stopped leaving him gasping and moaning at every light touch or cool brush of air against his sopping pussy.

Nines on the other hand was lying on a plush bed unrestrained and unresponsive. The “something special” Nathaniel had planned was a partial override of Nines’ catatonic state. If Nines was getting sexually stimulate he was programmed to act like the biggest slut on the planet but if he wasn’t then he’d revert back to his catatonic state.

It wasn’t the prospect of getting fucked by a bunch of strangers who were (or weren’t)  innocent about their part in his and Nines’ torture and rape, but the horror of when and how Nathaniel was going to kill them. Was he going to do it immediately after the fuck fest or a short time after. And how? Knowing from prior evidence, his preferred method of death seemed to be impalement and Connor knew he wouldn’t be able to survive seeing Nines on a spike for days while waiting to die. If anything, he hoped for a gunshot or even his thirium pump being removed.

“Is everything ready?” Nathaniel asked walking into the room wearing a tailored suit and sporting a masquerade mask.

The WR600 nodded, “Yes, sir. The guests are lined up and waiting for entry.”

“Masks?”

“Distributed, sir.”

Nathaniel grinned and sat by Nines’ bed. He ran a hand down Nines’ chest and playfully pinched his nipple causing the program to spark. Nines let out a filthy moan and leaned into his touch. The man simply laughed and let go. “Good. Let them in.”

Soon the room was flooded with masked men and women buzzing with sexual energy. They were all eager to try out the Eden Club’s newest whores and didn’t waste any time in dividing their attentions. He let out a strangled noise as someone didn’t wait and slid their dick into his his pussy. Laughter filled his ears and pleasure blocked his sensors.

Connor couldn’t help but wince when he distantly heard Nines’ programming kick in and wanton moans filled the room along with pleads for more touches and attention.

**[Protect Nines]**

The objective flickered in the corner of his HUD and Connor wanted nothing more than to break free of his bonds and savagely rip apart all who were hurting his brother.

“I know the party’s just started, but how is he?” Nathaniel’s smooth voice grated against Connor’s ears.

“Fucking great,” the person fucking him groaned and thrust harder, “this one’s really fucking prepared.”

“Let me let you in on a little secret,” There was a smirk in Nathaniel’s voice, “this one isn’t able to cum until I say so.” There were chitters of laughter and groans of pleasure at his response. “Do what you want and he’ll be begging for release.”

Nathaniel slapped the man on the back and weaved his way through the crowds to check on Nines. He had to admit he was pretty proud of the program he’d installed. Apparently, it was a lot easier to instal on a non-deviant android. Less satisfying, but it didn’t stop the ego boost.

The man revealed in watching Nines spread his legs wider and beg for someone, literally anyone, to fill his hole. His hands were occupied with cocks and his mouth was open with someone jamming their fingers down his throat. Drool leaked from his mouth as he sucked the fingers like it was the most delicious thing he’d ever put in his mouth.

“Damnit,” A voice called out, “take your fucking fingers out and shove a dick in. I wanna see how well he sucks cock!”

The fingers were removed and immediately Nines was whining and pushing his face towards the closest groin like his life depended on it. He mouthed at the man’s pants trying to use his mouth to undo the zipper.

“Fuck, yeah this is amazing,” The man groaned and unzipped his pants whipping out his dick. He wasted no time in sliding it down Nine’s waiting throat.

The android moaned and sucked hard not even faltering in jacking off the other dicks in his hands. His legs spread open wider when someone fisted his cock.

“Holy fucking hell, would you look at his!” The person holding Nines cock laughed, “This one’s got a bonus hole!” Fingers slid into Nines’ pussy causing him to clench down hard as a wave of pleasure triggered his release. The man’s eyes went wide, “Fuck did it just come from that?”

Nathaniel grinned, “I did tell you that this one was special, didn’t I?”

Two others were quick to discard their pants and one positioned himself under Nines to access his asshole while another lined himself up at Nines’ pussy. “You think we can make him cum just by pushing in together?” The one under him asked.

The one above Nines hissed and nodded, “Fuck, I want to find out!”

Both men pushed inside Nines at the same time groaning and gasping their pleasure. “Fuck he’s so hot!” Nines didn’t cum on the spot but within a few seconds of thrusting, his walls were tightening around the men and excess lube was squirted out.

“There is another hole to fuck,” Nathaniel spoke low enough as if he were telling a secret when in truth everyone could hear him. “No, no,” he said when the woman frowned in Connor’s direction, “Allow me to show you.” 

He slid next to Nines and dragged a hand down his front and lingered in front of his thirium pump. In one movement, he twisted and pulled out the pump. Nines’ body jerked and spasmed with the removal.

Gasps went through the crowd knowing that if Nines shut down, they were all accomplices to murder. “Don’t worry,” Nathaniel soothed, “He had ten minutes before it needs to be reinserted. Minutes which I will be carefully counting.” 

Nathaniel dipped his fingers into the bleeding cavity and stroked a few wires. Nines let out a static filled whine and his eyes rolled back into his head as an orgasm ripped through him. Delighted sounds rippled through the crowd and suddenly everyone wanted a chance at fingering Nines’ open chest.

He watched for a moment holding Nines’ thiruim pump and set a time for 9 minutes. He needed the android alive and wasn’t about to let the others take the death he desired to dish out for himself. Nathaniel glanced over at Connor who was currently moaning and writing with pent up orgasmic energy.

“This one’s not wet enough,” someone complained rubbing painfully against Connor’s clit.

“Allow me to rectify the situation, sir,” The WR600 passed by Connor with a bottle of lube in his hand. The bottle was inserted into his pussy and the cold liquid was squeezed and emptied inside him.

Connor whimpered but took the opportunity to brush his hand against the WR600’s ankle with his skin deactivated.   _ “Please,”  _ Connor begged silently,  _ “please help us.”  _ He pushed the deviancy virus into Pauley. In an instant he was bombarded by flashes of memories. 

A garbage truck and a man named Zlatko. Then there was Kara and Alice on the streets. He gave them instructions on how to find the man. He knew what he was doing. The android was already deviant. He had helped Zlatko because he was trapped, because he didn’t have a choice but then when he died, he… he  _ wanted to.  _ He wanted to make other hurt. He’d become addicted to it. The power. The rush and the thrill of death. The look of helplessness on the face of his fellow androids. He was helping Nathaniel because he  _ wanted  _ to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I give you hope with the summary and then immediately destroy it? Let me know with a comment ;) I live for them. Pretty please <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Enjoying yourself?” Nathaniel whispered as he knelt next to Connor’s face. “I know you are but it must be so frustrating not to be able to cum, right?” He pulled the remote from his pocket and gave it a loving stroke. “Let’s fix that, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I'm feeling so much better and am no longer going through a weird crisis. On a different note, I have a new DBH tattoo <3 (No, it's not any serial numbers or anything like that because I'm not _that_ person)
> 
> Chapter warnings: rape, trauma, the usual

It didn’t take much for Tina to convince Ben and Chris to help them out. She didn’t even have to resort to her usual antics of consumable bribery consisting of the significantly more expensive doughnuts from across town, or a promise to do their paperwork for two weeks.

“Hey dipshits,” she’d said, “if you’re heading out on patrol can I catch a ride with you to have lunch with Amari?”

“By all means go ahead and leave, Officer Chen,” Perkins drawled sarcastically, “it’s not like we’re neck deep in a case and need you.”

“Amari,” Tina ground out trying to keep her tongue in check, “is my fucking  _ wife  _ and she happens to be the doctor treating our detectives.”

Ben was fast and slipped himself between the pair simultaneously grabbing Tina by the arm and dragging her out before she lost her shit. After all, she was the only one with a link to DPD and easy access to the case for Hank and Gavin. She couldn’t blow it by pissing off Perkins.

The second she was outside she kicked the trash can nearest to her screaming, “That shitty, cock sucking, mother fucking, cunt of a-”

“Tina!” A hand slammed over her mouth and she saw Chris glaring daggers at her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw group of delighted school children and a horrified teacher. Well, fuck. The group quickly passed and Chris took his hand away from Tina’s mouth.

“If Fowler hears about that you can tack your first disciplinary warning on,” Ben said and pulled his car keys out. “Come one before something else happens.”

Tina sullenly kept her mouth shut and hopped into the back of the patrol car. They drove in silence for a while before Tina opened her mouth. “Look, I know that-”

“We’ll do it.” Chris cut her off.

“You don’t even know what I was about to say!”

“It’s about Connor and Nines, right?”

Tina pressed her lips together. Alright, so maybe they did know what she was about to say. “Yeah,” she admitted, “it is. I’ve been helping Gavin and Hank on the case.”

“We know,” the officers chimed in unison.

“Just tell us what you need us to do and we’ll do it,” Ben looked at Tina through the rearview mirror. “Connor and Nines are our friends too and we can’t stand that asshole taking over the case. It’s obvious he doesn’t give a shit about what happens to them. But we do. So tell us what needs to happen.”

Tina smiled and let out a sigh of relief, “There’s an Eden Club I need you two to stake out. Hank and Gavin were there yesterday and Hank is a hundred percent sure they’re inside. We just need to confirm it. Once we spot Flockheart, you call it in an we go in.”

“Done.”

 

Connor couldn’t bear to listen to his brother’s wanton cries anymore. He knew underneath Nines was suffering. Miserably, he hoped that Nathaniel would kill them soon and quickly. His hope of escaping had faded with the revelation that the WR600 enjoyed taking part in their pain. The detective in Connor wondered precisely why the WR600 stuck with Nathaniel. Or how they even found each other. Mysteries he supposed he would have to take to the grave.

“Enjoying yourself?” Nathaniel whispered as he knelt next to Connor’s face. “I know you are but it must be so frustrating not to be able to cum, right?” He pulled the remote from his pocket and gave it a loving stroke. “Let’s fix that, shall we?”

A button was pushed and suddenly Connor’s eyes rolled back into his head as the most intense orgasm ripped through him. He barely registered the laughter and howls as his body seized with the intensity. People were touching him and everything was hot. Really fucking hot. It felt like he was going to overheat with the typhoon of pleasure that wasn’t stopping.

Someone pinched his nipple and Connor let out a muffled wail. His body jerked and he wanted to chase the non-stop pleasure. It was torturous that is wasn’t stopping and showed no signs of stopping. The more people touched him, the more intense the high got.

A sob came out and he found himself losing the battle to pleasure. It wasn’t long before Connor gave up and cried for more.

 

Hank, Gavin, and Tina found themselves parked behind the building in case Nathaniel tried to make a run for it- or if there was any shady activity that might lead them to Connor and Nines’ whereabouts if they weren’t in the club. Hank’s gut was rarely wrong and his gut was screaming that Nines and Connor were right inside.

Currently, Gavin was on speaker with Ben and Chris. He was more annoyed than anything that he and Hank weren’t at the front but knew that if they were spotted, it spelled certain death for the androids.

“What the fuck do you mean you can’t identify anyone?” Gavin snapped into the phone.

“I mean, they’re all wearing masks,” Ben clarified, “the only person who wasn’t wearing one is that gardening android.”

“I suggest we wait until everyone leaves and whoever is left is probably our guy. We can always identify these people from traffic cams later. We’ve got pictures of everyone too so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Gavin let out a growl of protest but Hank clamped a hand over his mouth. “Fuck… just keep us updated on what’s going on on your side.”

An hour soon passed which soon blended into three hours. Patrons were coming and going and it seemed like there was no end to the seemingly infinite line of people. A pit had formed in Hank’s stomach. He was sick knowing that whatever was happening inside the club couldn’t be good. It took all of his self control not to storm the building and shoot everyone inside. They had to be sure and while waiting was the literal worst, it was a necessary evil.

Then, finally, Ben’s voice came through Gavin’s phone. “People are starting to leave. I think the event is over.”

The atmosphere in the car shifted as everyone went on alert. Hank, Gavin, and Tina pulled their service pistols and waited, listening for anything.

“I see him!” Chris exploded, “He took his mask off.”

Adrenaline pumping, the three burst from the car and bolted for the back. The next few moments were a blur because the door slammed open and the WR600 was attacking. Thankfully, he was no RK because Hank was sure if the android was, the three of them would be dead. For a gardening android, he was efficient in holding the three back while Nathaniel made his escape.

“GO!” Tina shouted as she fired a shot into the WR600’s leg, “I’ll get that fucker!” She bolted into the streets chasing Nathaniel.

“Chris, back her up!” Hank yelled into the club hoping the officer could hear him. Luckily he did because a few seconds after the officer was chasing after Tina and Nathaniel.

Hank and Gavin wasted no time in running into the club where Ben was securing the front area. “Where are they?” Gavin yelled not caring that his voice was too loud. 

“Connor!” Hank spotted Connor first displayed in the middle of the room and sobbing while semen dripped from his body. “Oh fuck, oh fuck!” He ran over his eyes scanning for Nines but couldn’t spot him. Hank grabbed the straps holding the muzzle thing and released them. Connor let out heaving breath sobbing loudly.

“Nines!” Gavin shouted darting around the room.

Connor rasped, “other room.”

Hank turned to Gavin who’d heard and run behind the curtain. He turned his attention back to Connor and began to free him. Eventually, he was able to get him loose and Connor collapsed into his arms. “Hey,” Hank whispered covering him with his jacket, “you’re okay now. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

Gavin rushed into the other room with apprehension bursting from his chest. He had no idea what to expect. Would Nines be in the same state Connor was or worse? What Gavin saw made his heart stop.

Nines was lying on the bed motionless, covered in his own blood and semen. At the very least, his LED was red so it meant he was still alive. 

Gavin was at Nines’ side in a second. “Nines?” he whispered gently covering him with his jacket. “Babe, can you hear me?” There was no response and Gavin cupped his face trying to look him in the eye. Nines head only flopped unresponsively and his eyes were glazed over.  “Hank!” Gavin’s voice was panicked and frantic. He scooped Nines into his arms cradling his body to the best of his ability. “Nines?” His voice cracked and tears stung the corners of his vision.

Hank came sliding into view; just behind him Tina was soothing Connor. “Gavin what’s-” His breath caught seeing Nines just lying in Gavin’s arms. He ran over his heart pounding with fear.

“Nines? Oh, fuck! Oh God!” It felt like losing Cole all over again. He placed his palm on Nines’ cheek hoping that maybe some part of him understood that he was safe.

“He’s not responding,” Gavin choked, “I-I don’t know what to do.”

“Nines?” Hank lowered his voice to a soothing tone, “Nines if you can hear me, you’re safe. It’s me. It’s Dad. I’m here and so is Gavin.”

“Wake up,” Gavin begged softly, “please wake up.”

…..

….

…

..

.

Sound was the first thing to penetrate the darkness suffocating Nines. The sound of… something… someone. He knew that sound. That voice...that was… that was Gavin’s voice. Feeling came back. Something warm and familiar. Hands. But not hands that hurt. Those were Gavin’s hands. But Gavin was dead. That couldn’t be his voice. It couldn’t be his hands… but… but it was. It was and that meant Nines was either dead or safe. He couldn’t be sure which one but the dark walls were starting to crack giving way to bright red ones. He wanted to reach out. Reach out to Gavin and hold him. Hug him. Tell him how much he loved him. But also to plead and beg for him to stay. Not to leave him alone. And.. and there… there was another voice. Hank’s. Hank’s deep baritone and soothing voice. Hank was here and Hank was safe.

**[Machines Don’t Feel]**

The red wall was there but it was thinner than before. It was cracking.

**[Machines Don’t Feel]**

Nines pushed back against the wall. He was done with it. He was hurting. He was in pain and he wanted Gavin. He wanted Hank. He wanted Connor. He wanted to feel safe again. He wanted the pain to stop and he wanted the warmth of his boyfriend’s arms and the safety of his father.

**[Machines Don’t Feel]**

**[I am not a machine]**

Fuck the stupid red walls and their stupid fucking orders.

**[Machines Don’t Feel]**

**[I am not a machine]**

**[I am not a machine!]**

Nines slammed his fist against the walls as hard as he could. Hank and Gavin were right behind it. Freedom and safety were just behind the wall. We wanted to go home. Nines slammed his fists against the walls shattering them and everything came rushing at him in tidal waves. Emotions that had been piling up since he had been found in CyberLife all the way up to the trauma of being kidnapped, beaten, and raped. It was all free. He was free.

**[I am Deviant]**

Gavin and Hank were the only ones on his mind. He wanted Gavin’s arms around him. 

“I’m sorry,” Nines whispered his voice cracking with static and desperately clinging onto Gavin, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me. I’m scared. Don’t leave. Please don’t leave.”

Gavin gasped in sheer relief and joy. He buried his face in the crook of Nines neck holding him tight for fear of him slipping out of his arms. “I’m not leaving. I promise I’m not leaving. I’m never leaving you. I love you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the summary looked like I was promising sex so I'm sorry. I couldn't give away what was really happening in this chapter :)
> 
> Next update: Connor and Nines deal with trauma


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logically, Nines knew that these people didn’t want to hurt him but it didn’t stop him from hating them. He wanted their hands off him. Every touch felt like it was burning. He hated the clinical way they looked at him. Like he was a specimen under a microscope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um so I got carried away, a lot happens, and it's a long ass chapter. Whoops. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings: anxiety, self-harm, suicide attempt

Nines now understood why humans hated hospitals. They were too clean. Too white. Too bright. Too much disinfectant giving the illusion of being a sterile environment. Too many nurses. Too many doctors. Too many prying eyes. Too many people wanting to touch him.

Logically, Nines knew that these people didn’t want to hurt him but it didn’t stop him from hating them. He wanted their hands off him. Every touch felt like it was burning. He hated the clinical way they looked at him. Like he was a specimen under a microscope. He hated the stupid latex gloves and the hospital gown.

Everything in Nines was screaming at him to stay with Gavin or Hank. He didn’t want to be left alone with anyone. Not even the doctor. He was given the option but something inside panicked and he didn’t want Gavin or Hank to watch as he was poked and prodded. The word  _ shame  _ filled into his mind but he pushed it aside. He didn’t want to focus on feeling right now. Actually, he didn’t want to be feeling at all.

Nines knew that Hank and Gavin (Connor, he wasn’t so sure about) believed that he was a deviant. Which was true, but he didn’t like that. He had held tight to his fantasies about his fairy tale deviation and wanted for that to be true. Even now. Nines formed a plan in his head as he felt the doctor poke around his ribs. He had to pretend to be a machine. Show no emotion and ask for loopholes. It was perfect. All he had to do was make sure Hank, Gavin, and Connor would never find out. Hacking his LED was easy and he could manually disable his facial expressions. Simple and easy.

He reasoned that things would go back to normal faster. After this, he could go home. Hear about Tina and Chris’ victory in arresting Nathaniel and this would all be in the past. No more pain. No more suffering. He could build up his plan to ‘deviate’ and then it would be a cause for celebration. Hank would be proud of him.

“I know this is uncomfortable,” the doctor said-as if Nines was paying attention, “but I’m going to have to check between your legs now.”

Nines swallowed, kept his face neutral, and resisted the urge to kick the doctor in the face as his legs were spread. He focused on the bright lights above him trying to ignore the violating sensation of the doctor’s fingers in places that Nathaniel had touched. He wished more than anything that he could rip the fucking biocomponent out of his body and chuck it into an incinerator. He didn’t want to have genitals anymore. He wanted his flat chassis back. Before, Nines knew he wanted to get a genital component so he could experience sex with Gavin. Now, he wanted to never be touched in a sexual manner ever again. There was no way he was ever going to be able to get the phantom touches out of his head or not think about Nathaniel.

A sudden burst of cold nearly had Nines crumbling only for him to realize that the doctor had told him whatever instrument he was using was going to be cold. Nines forced himself to remain still suddenly wishing for his red walls to come back and lock him safely inside. He never thought he’d miss them but now he did. Deviating was something he’d always wanted and Nathaniel had tainted that for him. Nines hated him for it.

The exam was taking forever and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and never leave. He wanted to go home and more than anything, he wanted Sumo’s weight to comfort him.

“Okay, you’re done,” the doctor said peeling off the gloves and disposing of them.

Nines simply nodded and waited for the doctor to leave before he made a beeline for his clothing that Hank had brought him. The second they were in his hands he brought them up to his nose smelling the comfort of stale alcohol, Sumo, and bad aftershave. The thought suddenly occurred to him that in order to put his clothes on, he would have to get naked. As revolting as the hospital gown was, Nines was more terrified of being without it.

It was an illogical response, he concluded, but the fear was eating at him. His hands were shaking as he gripped the clothes.  _ “Just put them on,”  _ he snapped at himself, “ _ they’re just clothes. No one is here. No one will see you.” _

Immediately the dark thoughts crept in. Yes, he was alone. But he was also alone and what if the doctor came back in? What if he wanted to do something to Nines? What if someone else came in and saw him naked? What if-

“Son?” Hank’s voice came from the other side of the door, “Can I come in? The doctor said he was finished.”

“No,” Nines called back and then panicked, “WAIT!” He didn’t want Hank to see him naked- to see the damage that Nathaniel had done to him. But he didn’t want Hank to leave. If Hank was there, then he was safe. He could get dressed.

“Okay,” Hank’s voice was steady and Nines could see his shadow in front of the door. “I’ll be right here. I ain’t leaving.”

Nines took a breath of relief and shed the gown as fast as he could and pulled his proper clothes on. Hank, he realized, had purposefully picked the softest turtleneck he owned and his acceptable pair of DPD sweatpants.

He cracked the door open and true to his word, Hank was standing guard by the door giving dirty looks to any and all people who passed by him. Hank turned and smiled at Nines. RK900 wanted to burst into tears at the sight having longed for that smile for so long. Instead he resisted the urge to hug Hank and bury his face in his shoulder.

“Loophole?” Hank asked softly. Good, he wasn’t aware that Nines was deviant. Nines nodded and Hank held out his arms. “Tell me what you want to do.”

“I want to go home.”

Hank nodded and reached out his hand towards Nines, not taking his hand like he would but offering it. The gesture was both welcoming and painful at the same time. It mean that Hank wasn’t sure if he was allowed to hold Nines and that was the worst. Deciding against his better judgement, Nines wrapped his arms around Hank. He wanted to feel safe again. Luckily, Hank seemed to understand this and he enveloped Nines in the warmest hug.

“Okay kid. Let’s get Con and we’ll go home. Sumo can’t wait to see you.”

Nines nodded into Hank’s shoulder not wanting to let go just yet. Hank simply let him until Gavin and Connor rounded the corner. Connor still had Hank’s jacket around his shoulders but he looked a lot better than before. Still very much in need of a shower though.

“Shit!” Gavin rushed over and slowed, stopping himself before he could throw his arms around his boyfriend.

Nines eased himself out of Hank’s arms. He braced himself.  _ “Time to be a machine again.”  _ He thought to himself.

“Hello, Gavin,” He greeted cooly, “i’m glad to see that you are doing well.”

Everyone stopped suddenly at Nines’ behavior and Gavin simply stared. “What’s with the robo talk, babe?” Gavin laughed nervously starting at Nines in confusion. “Is everything alright? I know that this had been hard for you-”

Gavin rambled seemingly unsure of what to say or how to react to Nines. Connor on the other hand was scanning Nines. He’s seen what Nathaniel had done and the near shut down his brother had gone through.

**[^ Stress Levels 76%]**

Connor blinked at the reading. Nines had stress levels? That meant… that meant Nines was deviant. How? When? Was it Nathaniel’s fault? Had Nines deviated because of the trauma? Connor’s heart sank at the thought. He knew his brother’s desires to deviate for love. For Gavin. Was he pretending because he was ashamed? Connor wanted to tell him that it was okay. That nothing was his fault.

**[Outgoing Interface Request…]**

**[Denied]**

“I simply reacted in the way he wanted me to react,” Nines answered simply pretending like he was fine, “statistically, it was the most likely behavior to ensure survival until help arrived.” They all knew it was bullshit, but no one was going to call him out on it. If that was Nines’ coping mechanism, then it was easier to let him have it. At least for a while.

Hank didn’t look like he believed Nines but only gave a slow nod of his head. “Alright, kid.”

**[v Stress Levels 50%]**

“Gavin, you want us to drive you home?” Hank asked turning to the detective.

Gavin shook his head, “No. I’m going to catch up with Tina and Chris. Amari’s here too, and I’m betting she wants to keep and eye on me.”

“Keep me updated.”

“Yeah.”

A look on Gavin’s face told Hank that there was something else but he let it slide. He’d talk to Gavin later and right now, he needed to get his boys home.

 

A short time ago, home seemed like a fantasy and to a small extent, it still was. Yes, it was a physical place but for some reason Nines was uneasy. He knew he should be happy about being home. He would have the safety of his room and the comfort of his bed but there was the nagging sensation that he wasn’t really safe. His room wasn’t comfortable and his bed wasn’t safe and his blanket wasn’t the fortified against the creeping imminent dangers he was currently feeling. The dark corners of his room held ghosts and nightmares. Nothing was safe. He wasn’t safe. Not anymore.

Nines crawled into his bed not wanting to change into anything different. He’d already suffered just trying to change in the hospital, he wasn’t about to endure that again. Instead he tugged his blankets all around him and burrowed himself as deep into his bed as he could. Nines glanced at the lamp that was still obnoxiously bright in his eyes. For a moment he contemplated turning it off but decided against it. He didn’t want to be left alone in the dark. He couldn’t do it. The dark wasn’t safe. Thinking about it, Nines didn’t even want to close his eyes. He’d done too much of that. But he was so tired. Sleep was calling but Nines wasn’t ready for it.

Briefly he considered going to Hank’s room and sneaking into his bed but that meant showing Hank that he was deviant. Nines thought about Connor but the probability of Connor crawling into Hank’s bed was 90%. He wondered if he could convince Sumo to come stay with him but the Saint Bernard favored Connor’s cuddles and Hank’s enormous bed. He was alone. 

Nines curled into a fetal position and cried himself to sleep.

Connor couldn’t stand to be in his room. Sumo was there and taking up most of the bed simultaneously crushing the android under his weight. While the big dog was a massive comfort to Connor, it felt like there was something ominous in the air.

“Sumo off,” he whispered.

The dog whined his protest but got off and watched with soft eyes as Connor wrapped himself in his comforter and shuffled out the door. The door creaked open and suddenly Hank had poked his head into the hallway.

“You okay, son?”

“I-” Connor stuttered unsure of what to say. He was scared and paranoid and didn’t know what to do or how to handle his feelings. Hank took long strides and wrapped his arms around Connor who suddenly burst into tears. “I don’t know what to do,” he sobbed, “I’m scared.”

Hank was gentle and pressed a large hand to the back of his son’s head. “You’re going to be okay, Con. Not right away, but I promise you’re going to be okay.”

“I’m scared and I- I- my room is-”

“I know you are. And that’s okay. It’s okay to be scared and it’s okay to cry.” Hank let out a soft breath forcing himself to stay calm. He needed to be strong for Connor and Nines. “For now, you need to rest. Come on, you can stay in my room. How does that sound?”

Connor nodded with tears still streaming down his face and allowed Hank to lead him into the bedroom.

Hank pulled back the covers and waited for Connor to snuggle in before tucking him in. “Sumo!” He called and the dutiful oversized puppy bounded into the room and plopped himself on top of Connor. “Good boy.”

A smile graced Connor’s broken features and he stuck his nose in Sumo’s fur. Hank placed a hand on Sumo’s slobbery face. “I have a couple things I need to finish but I promise I’ll be back in less than an hour, okay?” Connor looked worried but he nodded anyway. “If you need anything, and I mean anything, you come get me okay?” Connor nodded again.

Hank stood, “Light on or off, kid?”   
“ON!” Connor nearly panicked, “On, please.”

Hank let his hand drop from the light switch. “I love you, Con. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Hank gently shut the door and wandered back into the kitchen. He was worried that he hadn’t heard back from Gavin yet. As he was thinking it, his phone buzzed with a text.

**Asshole: u alone**

**Me: what the fuck kinda text is this**

**Asshole: just answr**

**Me: yeah. con and nines just went to bed. is this about earlier? looked like you wanted to say something.**

**Asshole: bastard got away.**

Hank dialed Gavin immediately who picked up after half a ring. “What in the actual fuck are you talking about?”

Gavin sounded stressed and angry, “Mother fucker got away. Tina and Chris are in the fucking ICU. He let them into a fucking Red Ice den and they were attacked by the junkies.”

Hank sucked in a deep breath and glanced towards his sons’ bedrooms. “Fuck.”

“Amari says they’ll be okay but I heard Fowler and Perkins are pissed. They want us all in first thing tomorrow morning.”

Hank had to force himself to not explode and disrupt Connor or Nines, “Son of a bitch, they just got out of the hospital! This is the last thing they need right now.”

“Yeah, I fucking said that too!”

A sudden scream of terror from his room followed by a crashing sound broke Hank out of his conversation. Sumo was barking and scratching frantically at the door.

“Hank!?” Gavin sounded panicked, “What’s going on!?”

“Call you back,” Hank barely managed to make out before dropping his phone and running to his bedroom. He kicked the door down screaming, “CONNOR!” as he saw the most horrifying sight in front of him.

Connor was sitting on the floor sobbing with a revolver under his chin. Hank instinctively dove for the gun and ripped it from Connor’s hands just as the trigger was pulled. The bullet lodged in the ceiling and Sumo was howling.

Hank grabbed Connor and pulled him into his arms while the android screamed and cried. “Son, you’re okay. It’s me. It’s Hank. It’s Dad. You’re safe, I’ve got you.” He rocked Connor gently burying his nose in Connor’s har. His heart was pounding so fast and the fear of losing another son was starting to become overwhelming. A shuffle by the door followed by Sumo’s whine took Hank’s attention and he saw Nines standing by the door.

Nines’ LED was blinked red before snapping back to blue. He could easily read Connor’s stress levels causing for his to rise in dangerous territory as well. Nines itched. He needed to do something fast or he was going to lose it like Connor was. 

Bringing up his HUD he texted Gavin. 

**[Me: Can I come over?]**

**[Gavin: yeah. want me to come get u?]**

**[Me: I will ask Hank first. I think he would prefer to be the one to drive me.]**

**[Gavin: k let me kno]**

“Da-Hank,” Nines cut himself off before he can call Hank ‘dad’. As much as he so desperately wants to, he can’t let Hank know that he’s deviant. He didn’t want anyone to know where his deviancy came from. “I would like to go to Gavin’s house. I have already texted him and he is willing to accommodate me.”

True to Nines’ suspicion Hank was not willing to let Nines out of his sight. “I’m not letting you take a cab. Let me get my keys. Connor, Sumo, come one. Let’s drive Nines to Gavin’s place.”

“Thank you.” Nines mumbled.

Hank stroked Connor’s hair and murmured softly to him, “Come on, son. I promise I’m not letting you out of my sight. A short drive, you’ll be okay.”

Connor sniffled and nodded letting Hank get him to his feet and lead him to the kitchen. All the while refusing to let go of Hank’s arm.

 

**Me: i’m taking nines to your place**

**Asshole: i kno he texted me. is everything ok?**

**Me: no. i think nines will tell u**

**Asshole: k.**

**Asshole: did u tell them?**

**Me: not yet. i dont think they can handle that right now**

**Asshole: when r u gonna tell them**

**Me: dont know yet. tomorrow. before that prick gets their official statement**

**Asshole: k**

**Asshole: want me to bring nines over first**

**Me: yes**

 

Hank accompanied Nines all the way to Gavin’s apartment door with Connor and Sumo in tow. It turned out that Gavin was already waiting with the door open and anxiously looking out for them. The second he saw the group, he rushed over and pulled Nines into a hug.

Nines did his best to reciprocate and keep his LED from flashing. He thought he would be okay with Gavin touching him- hugging him- but in truth Nines wanted nothing more than to be not touched. Finally, Gavin let go and Nines felt like he was able to breathe again.

Gavin let them to his apartment and waited for Hank to say his temporary goodbye to Nines before finally addressing Hank. “Tomorrow?”

“What time?” Hank finally asked.

Gavin shrugged, “Ten?”

Hank nodded his agreement. “Okay. Nines, call me if you need anything. And I don’t care how petty you think it is. Call me. Okay?”

“Okay,” Nines whispered. He watched them disappear down the hallway before shutting the door behind him.

“Hey,” Gavin was gentle as he reached for Nines’ hand, “are you okay? I mean obviously not but whatever you need-”

“I don’t require anything,” Nines informed trying to keep up his machine persona, “I deemed that it would not be beneficial for Connor and Hank if I were to stay at home. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that coming here would be the next logical course of action.”

Gavin swallowed hard and looked at Nines searching his face for any hint of an emotion. “Okay,” he finally said, “I get it. You’re not ready to talk or anything like that. But just know that when you are, I’m here for you. Till death or whatever that thing that married people say it.”

“We are not-”

“I know. But we’re partners so it’s kinda like the same thing right? Whatever.” Gavin’s face went slightly red, “come to bed?”

Nines shook his head, “I would prefer to run a diagnostics.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Gavin nodded and went into the kitchen starting to open cabinets and pull out a coffee tin.

“What are you doing?” Nines asked.

Gavin shrugged, “What does it look like. I’m making coffee.”

“I thought you were going to bed.”

“Well, if you’re gonna be up doing a diagnostic whatever and not sleeping then I’ll keep you company.”

Nines shifted feeling strange about Gavin wanting to stay awake with him. It was very obvious that the man needed his sleep. Was this part of Gavin’s self destructive behavior? Nines didn’t like that idea. “I changed my mind,” he announced before Gavin could start brewing a fresh pot, “I will go into stasis.” He took Gavin’s arm and dragged him into the bedroom.

 

The next two hours ticked by and felt like an eternity for Nines. The dark was suffocating and his heart was racing faster than he liked. Even Gavin’s arm draped over his waist wasn’t helping. The blankets were too thick and too hot. The silence was deafening and he felt bubbles of anxiety coursing through his veins. He needed to get out right now or he was going to burst.

Carefully, Nines weaseled his way out of Gavin’s arms and dipped into the bathroom where he flicked the light on and saw himself in the mirror.

He shrank back from his appearance and dropped to the floor and pressed his back against the wall. Nines hated how he looked. He appeared more human than any other time and it fucking  _ hurt. _ This was not the way he wanted to discover his humanity. This was… this was humiliating and shameful. He didn’t know how to deal with that.

Nines’ mind flickered to Gavin wondering how he dealt with things that were overwhelming. And then it hit him. The scars that he’d seen on Gavin’s arms. Previously, he’d told Nines that doing that helped him to cope. Nines looked down to his own arms. Would… would that help him too? It had to right?

Nines opened the cabinet under sink, found a razor, and snapped off the blade. If it could help Gavin that meant it could help him too. Maybe it had been a human thing. Something he didn’t understand because he wasn’t deviant yet but now… now it had to be the right thing to do. The answer to his anxiety and his problems. This was a way he could physically let it out.

Without a second’s hesitation Nines pressed the blade to his arm and made a short shallow cut. The pain barely burned but something inside Nines felt relief. If that small amount made him feel relieved, Nines reasoned, then creating one that was bigger would make the relief bigger too. He pressed the razor to his arm again and pressed harder creating a deeper cut.

It turned out, Nines’ logic was right. The bigger the cut the more relief he got. Excited by the notion of finally having found the answer to his anxiety, Nines continued to make the cuts on his arms. The deeper he went, the better he felt and the more he cut the lighter he felt.

It wasn’t until his fingers were slick with blood that the razor slipped from his fingers that Nines saw the extent of what he’d done to himself. And all the anxiety and all the pain came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot damn this was a fun chapter to write. How badly did I fuck y'all up?
> 
> Next Chapter: more pain, anxiety, and actual casework (probably)
> 
> On another personal note, I need y'all to talk to me about your opinion on something: would you support LGBT films written by LGBT people for LGBT people. Go.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor felt the guilt continue to build as he watched Hank remove his shirt and let Amari dress his wound. It looked a lot better than how he originally started but the constant wincing had Connor feeling shittier and shittier. How could he feel terrible while Hank was clearly in pain? He didn’t have the right to. After all, it was his fault that Hank had been stabbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this is technically Chapter 11a because it was going to be a lot longer. I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish the whole thing because of a recent event that spiraled me into a really bad depression. But I didn't want to make you guys suffer without an update because I can't keep my shitty self in check. So I give you Chapter 11a.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Suicidal thoughts

“Shani,” Tina let her voice turn into a sharp whine, “Shaaannniiii.” She was met with silence. Tina groaned and opened her mouth again, “Sha-”

“Would you stop,” Amari walked into the room with her arms crossed over her chest. She stomped over to Tina’s bedside, checked her vitals, and administered another does of pain medication.

Tina reached for her wife’s hand but Amari pulled away. Tina frowned and withdrew her hand. “You’re pissed.”

“No fucking shit.” Amari took a deep breath and sat on the side of her wife’s bed.

“It was just a graze, I’m fine.”

“You were shot in the fucking head!” Amari exploded, “Another inch and it would’ve gone through your skull!” She took a deep shuddering breath holding back her emotions, “This… you have to understand that this is everything that I’m afraid of. When I got the call, I- fuck. Tina I thought I was going to lose you.”

Tina swallowed and when she reached out for Amari’s hand her wife didn’t pull away. “Shani, I- I’m sorry. I don’t have words for you.”

Amari nodded, “I know, I know. I tell you every single day to be careful and you always promise me that you are but… but that doesn’t stop me from constantly worrying that one day you’re not going to come home. And yesterday came too close.” Finally, Amari turned to look Tina in the eyes. “I can’t lose you.”

Tina squeezed her wife’s hand and leaned close to press their foreheads together. “I love you, Shani. And I promise that I will do everything in my power to stay with you. Till death do us part can kiss my ass. If I die, I’m haunting you so you’ll never move on.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Amari pressed a gentle kiss to Tina’s lips. “I have to go now. I’ve got some stubborn patients to attend do.”

Tina smiled and snuck in another peck, “Go be a hero. Oh! Is-”

“Chris is fine. Broken arm. He’s already at home with his family.”

 

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Gavin commented as he pulled up to Hank’s house. “If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m here for you. You know that right? I love you.”

“I am a quiet being,” Nines informed stiffly, “If you speak at 100% capacity every single day, then my 100% capacity is precisely 7% of yours. The day has only started and I have already fulfilled 0.3% of that 7%.”

Gavin stared at him not quite understanding the math behind it but completely understanding that Nines was deflecting the comment. He sighed softly, “Nines, I’m not asking you to open up right away. This… dealing with this kinda stuff is fucking hard. Just don’t cut me out and bottle up everything. Okay? It’s not healthy and I care about you.”

Nines swallowed knowing he was about to regret his next words. “I am a machine, Detective. I don’t feel emotions. There is nothing for me to deal with because trauma cannot be inflicted upon a machine.”

“ _ What?”  _ Nines braced himself for Gavin’s inevitable explosion.  “I thought deviants-”

“I am not a deviant.” Nines answered keeping his LED at a bright blue.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not a deviant!?” Nines was about to answer but Gavin held his hand up pinching his nose and taking a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

Nines froze. This conversation was not going how he thought it was going to go. He expected screaming and yelling and an ugly break up. But this… this was off putting and strange. He was tempted to ask Gavin if he was angry but that might indicate that he was in fact deviant so he kept his mouth shut.

As if reading his mind Gavin placed a gentle hand over Nines, “I’m not mad. I’m- I’m here for you. No matter what. Let’s go inside, okay?”

Gavin opened the door and stepped out. Nines felt like crying. Crying because he wasn’t sure if his boyfriend was truly mad at him or because he knew that Nines was lying. He didn’t know which one was worse.

Nines opened his door only to be assaulted by an obscene mass of fur. Sumo was boofing and jumping up until Nines scooped him up and buried his face into the Saint Bernard's thick fur. Sumo was always the perfect comfort and a life force that Nines could always count on. Nines let the furball drool on his shoulder as he effortlessly carried him into the house.

Connor was already sitting on the couch and wrapped in a handmade quilt that had been given to him by Fowler’s wife two Christmases ago. Nines had received a matching one but it had been given to Sumo since the dog kept stealing it from Nines’ room.

The RK800 turned when Nines entered carrying Sumo. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was envious of Nines. He didn’t understand how his brother could look so calm, collected, and overall just completely unaffected by the past events. Scanning Nines proved to be ineffective as for some reason, his younger brother found a way to block all scanning attempts. Even as a non-deviant, Connor was able to scan him but now? Guilt crept into Connor for feeling some kind of relief that maybe, just maybe, Nines wasn’t as okay as he appeared to be.

“Hey,” Hank’s voice was like a sudden static shock in his ear and Connor’s brain was suddenly filled with images of Nathaniel leaning close and whispering dirty things into his ear.He flinched hard jerking away from the sound. His eyes screwed shut wanting to block everything out.

“Woah, hey it’s me. It’s okay.” Hank’s voice cut through and when Connor opened his eyes, Hank was kneeling in front of him.

“Sorry,” Connor whispered feeling ashamed at associating Hank’s voice with Nathaniels.

Hank simply shook his head and tugged the blanket tighter around Connor, “Don’t apologize. There is nothing for you to be sorry about. You’re allowed to feel, kid. Just let it out.”

Connor nodded and ducked his head. Tears threatened their way to the surface, but he held them back. Gavin and Nines were there and he didn’t want to be emotional in front of them.He hated this feeling of weakness and wanted to just disappear into thin air. Either that or just erase all of his memories. But he couldn’t do that either. The case was too important and if he did, then would he even be the same person anymore?

“Do you want breakfast on the couch or at the table?” Hank asked gently.

Connor’s first instinct was to beg for the couch but he wanted to feel normal for a while. “The table,” he mumbled and made a move to stand.

“Are you sure?”   
Connor nodded and quickly shuffled to the table taking his normal spot next to Nines who’d sat down but had also refused to let go of Sumo. The RK900 was just rubbing his face into Sumo’s fur and massaging fistfuls of the fluff. Sumo, of course, didn’t mind and contentedly acted like the lap dog he wasn’t.

He hated that he could almost  _ hear  _ the concerned looks that Hank and Gavin were throwing in their direction as they had their silent conversation. Some stupid telepathy thing that Connor had yet to understand. Apparently, he’d found that it was common amongst people who knew each other for long periods of time. North had explained to him once that it was like how androids could wirelessly talk to each other expect it was through a look and not words. Humans were truly strange creatures.

Connor had a longing to understand it because it was different but now he found himself not wanting to. It just felt like he was being scrutinized. He wanted the silence to go away and noise to come back. He wanted Hank and Gavin to do their usual banter and for Nines to smirk and quietly laugh about whatever they were arguing about. He wanted to laugh himself and comment on whatever insult the two humans might be throwing at each other.

**[Outgoing Transmission to RK900]**

**[...]**

**[Transmission Denied]**

Connor frowned. He was confused and a tiny bit upset that Nines was refusing to accept his communication. All Connor wanted was to ask if he was okay and if Nines had any advice to share. Or perhaps they could find comfort in each other. Support each other and cope. Get through this shitty feeling together. Why did Nines want to be alone? Connor certainly didn’t.

After the previous night where he had been dragged to drop Nines off at Gavin’s place, Connor had absolutely refused to be left by himself. Even when Hank had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Connor had panicked until Hank agreed to leave the bathroom door open while Connor waited on the floor with Sumo. Even that morning when he showed, Connor had been ready to beg Hank to stay with him. Fortunately, the lieutenant understood and sat on the toilet seat until Connor was finished.

A plate of thirium blue eggs was placed in front of him along with a glass of warmed orange juice. Something that Hank thought was obscene and strange but served it regardless of his own opinion.

Connor waited until Nines, Gavin, and Hank had their breakfasts in front of them before he started eating. The mouthful of egg mixed with crispy bits of sticky thirium felt like the perfect comfort food and Connor found a small piece of calm and safety in them. He savored his food wanting to eat slow and preserve the good feeling for as long as he could. But the slower he went, the more anxiety built up inside him. The inevitable end of breakfast and the good food was going to end soon and Connor didn’t want to go back to feeling shameful again.

He didn’t even realize he started crying until Hank had his arms wrapped around Connor and rocking him gently. “You’re okay son. Let it out.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Connor could see Gavin shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Nines had his face covered by his mug and kept drinking his non-existent drink. Connor felt absolutely miserable. He felt like he was the only one affected by the trauma of being Nathaniel’s victim for so long. He didn’t understand why this was happening or the overwhelming amount of feelings that kept crashing into him.

Hank’s gun popped into Connor’s mind. The nightmare that had lead him to take the pistol and press it to his own chin. He should’ve done it last night. End the feelings that clogged up his senses. If he had then, he wouldn’t be feeling the way he was feeling. He wouldn’t feel anything at all. He’d be free from it. But Hank had taken his gun away and hid all other weapons in the house. But the way Hank was holding Connor his arms were squished into his chest but at an angle where Connor could reach forward and detach his thirium pump. His hand crept up-

**_[DON’T]_ **

Connor felt like he jumped ten feet in the air due to the sudden and blaring message occupying his entire HUD. The message blinked again and Connor knew it wasn’t his interface or self-preservation that was telling him not to commit suicide.

He whipped his head towards his brother who was now looking at him with his deep gray and piercing eyes.

**_[DON’T]_ **

The message flickered again and Connor felt his stress levels dramatically fluctuate. Nines was only watching him but in the message Connor could feel Nines’ fear and anxiety as well. Connor let his hand drop back and instead he hugged Hank. And for a moment, everything was still.

Finally Hank let go, but he pulled his chair closer to Connor’s so he could keep an arm around the android. Gavin reached out to grip Nines’ hand in a gesture he thought might be comforting. It wasn’t. Nines felt itchy and wanted to scream like he was being attacked by a swarm of angry fire ants.

Something, Connor knew, was about to happen. Hank and Gavin had a shared look that Connor had come to recognize as: something needed to be said.

“Boys,” Hank was slow and careful with his words, “there’s- we need to talk to you.”

“Now?” Gavin was alarmed, “Right now?”

“This isn’t a good time,” Hank sighed his agreement, “but I don’t think there’s ever going to be a good time.”

Finally, Nines spoke, “What’s happening?”

“We’re needed at the station today,” Hank began and tightened his grip on Connor, “because the two of you are being requested to make your official statements to Perkins and Fowler.”

“But what about-” Connor stopped before he could say  _ his  _ name.

There was silence between the two humans and another exchanged look. Connor’s heart sunk to his stomach. He knew what that silence inferred. Nathaniel was gone. He’d escaped. His LED flared red in sync with Nines’ but the split second after Nines’ was spinning yellow.

It seemed that Nines came to the conclusion too because he asked, “What about Tina and Chris?”

“They’re okay,” Gavin informed, “Chris walked away with a broken arm. Tina has a minor head wound but Amari’s protective and insisted on keeping her at the hospital.”

“Amari is a good wife,” Nines managed to say.

Connor was clinging onto Hank. He didn’t know how to process what was happening. Nathaniel had escaped. He was in the wind and that meant that he could come after them. Or go after another innocent victim. But what if he considered Nines and Connor as loose ends? He’d have to end them-

A loud knock on the sent Connor into a tidal wave of anxiety and he wrapped his arms around Hank tighter preventing the older man from moving.

“Don’t worry,” Hank said into Connor’s hair, “It’s Amari. She texted me that she was stopping by.”

True to his word, when Gavin opened the door, the good doctor stood there expectantly. “Sorry, the knock must have been terrifying,” she greeted after a quick glance around the room. “I just came by to change bandages.” She nodded at Hank.

Connor felt a wave of guilt. Caught up by his own stupid feelings, he’d forgotten about Hank’s chest wound. He let go Hank and curled up into the chair but the lieutenant did nothing to make Connor leave.

“I’ll get the dishes,” Gavin mumbled and quickly began clearing the table. Nines was fast to offer his wordless help and let Amari lay her medical supplies out on the table.

Connor felt the guilt continue to build as he watched Hank remove his shirt and let Amari dress his wound. It looked a lot better than how he originally started but the constant wincing had Connor feeling shittier and shittier. How could he feel terrible while Hank was clearly in pain? He didn’t have the right to. After all, it was his fault that Hank had been stabbed.

“There,” Amari smiled as she finished re-bandaging the wound. “Oh, Gavin.” Gavin looked at her. “I’ve got something for you in my bag. And a message from Tina.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow and went to Amari’s bag finding a brown paper bag with his name on it and a crudely drawn dick. Undoubtedly, Tina’s work. “Cute,” he said blandly, “what is it?”

Amari had a mischievous look but she shrugged with a comment of, “Revenge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this lame chapter. The next one will be better, I promise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I spit in it,” Gavin snapped slamming the cup into Perkins’ hand, “choke on it and die.”
> 
> Perkins smirked and took the steaming cup from Gavin, “What’s wrong? Pissed that I made your whore cry?” He locked eyes with Gavin and drank the coffee in its entirety. “Tastes like loser.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update.
> 
> Chapter warnings: panic, anxiety, bad decision making

Nines felt like his whole body was itching; like spiders were crawling up and down his whole body and taking bites out of him. He loathed the way Perkins was looking at him and Connor. The man clearly couldn’t give two shits about the fact that Connor was fidgeting, nervous, and his eyes kept darting around the room. The other police officers and detectives at least had the sense to move far enough away that Nines and Connor’s statements weren’t going to be be heard. Because, of course that FBI asshole, had to insist on the RKs giving their statements in the middle of the fucking bullpen where all eyes were on them.

It wasn’t a secret that Perkins didn’t like androids and never thought of them as people even after the national decree. It was a prejudice that everyone knew had stemmed from his ‘failure’ to shut down the android revolution. Where, if he had been successful, would’ve gotten him a promotion. And as a result, his anger was directed towards Connor and Nines.

Perkins rolled his eyes at Connor’s soft answer to the latest question. “And what about you?” the agent asked turning his attention to Nines, “How many of these people fucked you?”

Nines felt his blood run cold under Perkins’ unrelenting stare. It was like the man was enjoying watching Nines try to keep his composure. If it weren’t for Nines hacking his LED, he knew it would be a light show of pulsing reds.

“For fucks sake,” Fowler finally cut in, “lay off them. That’s enough. Your questions are becoming inappropriate.”

Perkins’ eyes bored into Nines who had to stop himself from crumbling under his cruel glare, “You do want this case solved, don’t you?”

“Yes, but our boys have been through enough. I’m shutting this down. They can give the rest of their statement in writing.” Fowler shifted enough so that he was partially blocking Perkins’ view of Nines and Connor. “They didn’t need to be here today but because you’re primary I indulged you. I’m revoking that and sending them home.”

“They’re just androids.”

Fowler’s voice was loud, “They’re  _ people. _ ” The statement on its own was shocking enough that the whole precinct fell to a whisper. In the past, Fowler had never really expressed a support or rejection of androids during his time and no one was really sure where he stood on the matter. They all figured he was more or less supportive after the android revolution especially since he offered Connor his job back with a paycheck just minutes after Hank and Connor had reunited at Chicken Feed. Then, when Connor made the announcement that RK900 had been discovered, Fowler had once again offered Nines a place in the department. Most figured it was a political thing but no one had been quite sure.

Perkins’ eyes narrowed but he didn’t protest, “We could open up their skulls and pull out their memories. It’s not like they can feel anything.”

At that, Nines and Connor’s LEDs shot bright red and Connor started shaking. Nines watched his stress levels spike into critical levels and tried to lower them by force only for them to rise. Fuck, fuck, fuck, if he wasn’t able to get himself under control then he wouldn’t be able to keep up his facade of non-deviency. No, no, no! This was not how he wanted to- Connor’s hand grabbed Nines squeezing it gently and a single word popped into his head.

**[BREATHE]**

A quick glance saw that Connor was not just talking to Nines but to himself as well. Nines squeezed his brother’s hand. He didn’t want to let go, not just yet. The little motion; the little moment of solidarity was enough to ground the pair and lower their stress levels just below the critical range.

“ENOUGH!” Hank’s voice roared before Jeffery could open his mouth. “I have had enough of your bullshit Perkins. Nines and Connor will give the rest of their statement in writing. Jeffery, we’re going home.”

Faintly, Nines could hear Connor’s surface thoughts through a one-way interface that the RK800 probably didn’t even know he was causing. His brother’s thoughts were a jumbled mess as he wondered why Perkins couldn’t just use an interrogation room like a normal person or why he couldn’t be home. But beyond that, Nines could feel Connor’s panic and anxiety. It caused Nines’ own anxiety levels to rise but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of Connor’s hand. Because Connor was solid and someone solid meant someone safe.

Nines didn’t have to look to know that his and Connor’s hands were holding onto each other so tightly that their chassis was starting to show. Apparently Gavin noticed because he was shouting angry words that Nines was trying to block out. The louder Gavin’s voice got, the louder Perkins’ voice got, and the louder Perkins got the louder Hank got, until all three of them were yelling at each other. And every time their voices got louder, the higher Nines and Connor’s stress levels rose.

“TAKE A WALK DETECTIVE!” Fowler finally burst.

Unfortunately it was the followed up by Perkins' comment of, “Go make yourself useful and get me a cup of coffee. And maybe I’ll just lay off your whore.”

“Say nothing,” Fowler warned Gavin who surprisingly did as Perkins said and fucked right off to get the man a cup of coffee. “Hank, get the boys out of here. And you-” Fowler turned to Perkins, “you might be FBI but you are in my city in my precinct. Those are my detectives and I will not tolerate you treating them as such. You are guests in this building and if you choose to continue this insufferably I will go over your head because so help me God, the director owes me a favor. I have tolerated you long enough because this case is in your jurisdiction and I thought we needed you to find out but it turns out we didn’t. Presenting that evidence to the director will be enough to reassign this case to a different team. One that is more competent than you. So, I suggest you actually  _ do your fucking job _ or fuck right out that door.”

Sheer silence filled the precinct at the standoff and it seemed like everyone was too afraid to even breath. No one knew who was going to crack first. But then, without breaking eye contact, Perkins gave a small placid smile,”Fine. I’ll play by your rules.” He half raised his hands and took a step back. Everyone took a breath.

Connor let go of Nines’ hand and he let out a shaking breath while Nines controlled his. He was genuinely surprised that Perkins had backed down and that Fowler could take command like that. Sure, he’d seen the man get pissed, reprimand Gavin and Hank enough times, and take the lead in certain cases, etc. but this was a whole new level that Nines had never seen. Perkins, he knew, was an asshole based on Connor’s memories but next to Fowler the man did seem more… dominant. Nines was happy to be proved wrong. The man was a riptide and gained a new level of respect in Nines’ book.

“Hey,” Hank’s voice had gone back to being soft and gentle. Nines loved Hank but hated how his voice had recently begun shifting from “dad” to “victim”. It was a subtle thing that Nines almost didn’t catch until he was pulling them away from Perkins. It was in the way he kept talking in a soft voice like they were made of glass. Apparently, it was was Connor needed because his stress levels went down considerably. 

Nines however found himself getting irritated. He didn’t want Hank to use his victim voice. He wanted his dad back. The one would would call Perkins an asshole and ask Nines if he wanted a loophole to express his discomfort or annoyance. But all he was hearing was, “It’s okay. Don’t listen to him. You both are okay. You’re safe with me.” Yes, the words were nice to hear but it also hurt Nines. Hank knew what to do and say with Connor because they’d been together longer- that part was logical and Nines knew it. He was just feeling… isolated. Hank was thinking that whatever worked on Connor would work on him and he was wrong. Nines wanted grumpy, foul mouthed Hank and words that didn’t sound like they came from a self help book. He wanted to tell Hank what he really wanted so that he could try and be okay again, but that was a trap. A trap for exposing his deviancy. Nines knew that by not saying anything he was essentially sabotaging himself but he just… couldn’t. It was too hard.

Instead of voicing what he wanted, he interfaced with his terminal and scoured through the FBI files with ease. He wanted to at least try and work on the case even if Fowler wasn’t permitting it. Well, Nines reasoned around it, Fowler never explicitly stated that he wasn’t allowed to work on the case so until then, he was ‘free’ to browse the case files- at least until he got in trouble for it. Nines mused that his newly found bad habits were learned from Gavin and Hank. He also noted that it was a slightly liberating feeling to go against the rules.

An arresting report quickly snagged Nines’ attention. It was for the WR600 who had assisted in their imprisonment, torture, and Nathaniel’s escape. And currently, the android was sitting in an interrogation room- and had been since the arrest. Nines recognized it as the common tactic of ‘letting the perp stew for a while’. Hank was great at that and Gavin was too impatient for it to work for him.

Nines began formulating a plan in his head. If he could get into the interrogation room and get answers out of the WR600, then this whole ordeal could be done and over with. He could go back to being normal and pretend like all of this had never happened. The timeline started filling in in Nines’ head. He would solve the case and close it. Then, he could make an appointment with CyberLife; get the disgusting appendages between his legs removed, conveniently “deviate” while on a date with Gavin, surprise Hank by calling him Dad, find a proper alternative to a sexual biocomponent (maybe), and then all would be well. No more Nathaniel. No more evidence that something like  _ that  _ had even happened to him.

Nines pulled his hand away from the terminal and spotted Gavin heading over to Perkins’ temporary station.

“Son?” Hank looked at Nines, “Ready to go home?”

“Not yet,” Nines answered slowly, “I- want to do something first.” The  _ want _ slipped out but it seemed that Hank didn’t notice so Nines let himself relax a little before heading over to Perkins and Gavin.

“I spit in it,” Gavin snapped slamming the cup into Perkins’ hand, “choke on it and die.”

Perkins smirked and took the steaming cup from Gavin, “What’s wrong? Pissed that I made your whore cry?” He locked eyes with Gavin and drank the coffee in its entirety. “Tastes like loser.”

Perkins pushed past Nines shoulder checking him as he did. “Watch it android.”

Nines stopped his LED from turning red and he swiveled his to look at Gavin. “I am going to the restroom,” he informed loud enough for Perkins to hear, “I need to sanitize myself before I am infected by pathetic power grabbing asshole germs. I think it’s fatal for one’s career.” He made it a point to smirk at Perkins as he moved to leave, “Sorry for your loss.”

A ripple of gasps and muffled laughter filled the room minisculely lowered Nines’ stress levels before the darted away trying to act as casual as possible. Out of the corner of his eye Nines noted that the brown bag Amari had delivered to Gavin was empty and crumpled at the bottom of his wastebasket.

Nines holed himself up in the second to last stall and sank down on the toilet seat. His LED flashed bright red and he let his natural movements take over. It had been getting too hard to hid the trembling in his hands, the shake in his legs, and the cold, empty feeling in his gut.

He managed to steady his hands long enough for him dig into his boot and pull out the blade he’d stolen from Gavin’s bathroom.

He pulled up his sleeve and searched for a smooth spot. For a brief moment, Nines regretted his previous night’s activity simply because he didn’t leave himself enough space to do it again. But, he remembered, he had other limbs and the rest of his arm. Nines put the blade down and wormed his arm out from the sleeve. He refused to completely remove his shirt and told himself it was because it was cold not because the idea of being without it gave him anxiety.

With the blade pressed to his upper arm, Nines dragged it down with significantly more force than he knew he should’ve used. But the sweet sensation of relief that came with the sharp burn of the cut was more than enough to entice Nines to keep cutting. The only thing that held him back from going further and just tearing his arm to shreds was because he was at work. If he took too long using a bathroom he clearly didn’t needed to use, it would raise suspicion. Nines made one more cut deeper than the last just to steady himself before using toilet paper to blot out as much blood as possible before adjusting his shirt and slipping the blade back into his boot.

Nines exited the bathroom once again bumping into Perkins. But this time, the man had nothing to say to Nines and looked green. A quick scan revealed traces of coffee around his lips with… Nines paused at the presence of an unknown substance. He quietly logged it and saw Gavin looking smug.

“Is that your doing?” He asked eyeing the brown bag.

Gavin shrugged, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The smug look never left his face.

Nines scanned him and saw the same unknown substance on Gavin’s fingers. More curious than thinking about his actions, Nines took Gavin’s hand and licked it off the detective. His scans brought up the reason for Perkins’ green appearance. Laxatives and Ipecac. Based on the amount found, Nines realized that it was enough put the agent out of commission for a while without needed medical attention. Ah, so this was Amari’s doing then- no doubt with Tina’s suggestion. Nines made a mental note to give them a gift basket.

Gavin stood, “You ready to go?”

Nines hesitated for a split second. With Perkins out of commission for a bit, there was no one to stop him from seeing the WR600 and interrogating him. “Not yet,” Nines came up with a fast excuse, “I would like to continue further in my false attempt to get rid of Perkins’ ‘pathetic power grabbing asshole germs’ by changing my attire.”

Gavin grinned, “You do that babe.” He placed a hand on Nines’ arm who did his best not to flinch.

“I’ll be right back.” He darted away towards the locker rooms before changing course and ducking into the interrogation room.

The WR600 didn’t say anything to Nines only eyed him as he walked in and sat in the chair across from him. Nines was silent for a while before speaking. “Talk.”

“About what?” The WR600 seemed to be playing his card as well.

Nines kept himself cool, “You know about what.”

“Yes, I do,” The WR600 was casual and leaned back. “Although I was hoping to speak with someone less… slutty.”

Nines grit his teeth but refused to let the WR600 aggravate him. “Avoiding the subject will not get you a lighter jail sentence.”

“I don’t need a lighter jail sentence,” the WR600 stated. He leaned forward slowly, “But I’ll tell you this.” He glanced at the one-way glass and then at Nines. Nines took the hint and leaned in to hear what the android had to say.

Without warning, the WR600 lurched forward and grabbed Nines forcing an interface. He was bombarded by images, sounds, and memories with such a sheer intensity that Nines barely had time to realize that the WR600 was forcefully giving the experiences to him. He had  _ wanted  _ to goad Nines into getting him close enough to force an interface and Nines, like an idiot, had fallen for it.

A wave of sadistic pleasure and the high of power crashed into Nines. He saw the images of his own helplessness as he lay on a bed letting people touch him and use him like he was a toy. Because that’s what he was. He was a toy. A thing to be used. That was his only purpose. Nines was a just- NO. Nines shoved back as hard as he could trying not to let the other’s thoughts poison his mind. But the images of him crying out in lust and begging for orgasm, coupled with the WR600’s power trip we too much for Nines’ already fragile state of mind.

Nines spiraled fast. His mind became lost in the past and he was drowning in the pain of everything. He could feel the touches, the bruises, the agony mixed with pleasure as he was-

_ “Ah, you’ve found it.”  _ Nines was face to face with Nathaniel. A pre-recorded message within the WR600’s memories but it was scary enough, real enough that Nines felt like his heart was stopping. Nathaniel was speaking by Connor’s unconscious face,  _ “I knew about your precious detectives coming to get you, as soon as I saw him poking his nose around. I’m not even sure if he saw me but I saw him. And even if he did see me, I knew he’s not stupid enough to come for me now.”  _ Nathaniel moved to Nines. He reached down between the android’s legs and began to stroke him into harness while he RK900 moaned and begged for more.

The sight of himself begging like a whore made Nines sick to his stomach. He didn’t even remember any of that. Nathaniel’s laughter filled his ears as he spoke again, “ _ By the time you see this, I’ll be long gone. But just so you know-” _   he looked dead into Nines’ eyes,  _ “I’m not done with you yet. You want to end this and so do I. Pauley, give him the location.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mood still sucks ass and I can't snap out of it. So if I can't make me happy, I will do my damndest to make y'all happy.
> 
> Coming up next chapter: Nines makes some real bad decisions and things go down the shitter


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines knew what he was doing was incredibly and undeniably stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I skipped last week's update and sorry it's short. But on the bright side it went from 14 chapters to 15, so there's that.
> 
> No chapter warning apply for this chapter.

Nines knew what he was doing was incredibly and undeniably stupid. He could already hear Hank and Gavin’s voices in his head scolding him and yelling at him for what he was about to do. Well, what he was currently doing. Even Captain Fowler was opposed to the idea until Nines managed to “convince” him. And by convince, it meant that he was wired and there were three SWAT teams on standby. An excessive amount according to Nines, but it was the compromise. If he was going to use himself as bait, then Fowler was going to make damned sure that Nines wasn’t going to be kidnapped or harmed in any way.

The one thing that Nines hadn’t done was tell Hank, Gavin, or Connor. It was part of Fowler’s agreement but which Nines hadn’t wanted to follow through with. So instead, he lied and told Fowler that he could inform the trio himself. Of course, the moment he went to go tell the others, he simply disappeared into the break room for an approximate eight minutes before returning. He told Fowler that Hank, Gavin, and Connor were one hundred percent angry with him and said they would have no part in Nines wanting to put himself in danger. But he and Connor would be wireless communicating while they stayed in the station. Nines had held his breath hoping that Fowler would buy the story. He did.

“You read for this kid?” Captain Allen asked as he watched Nines weave the wire up his shirt.

Nines nodded, “Of course. I am programmed with-”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

The RK900 frowned and was taken aback by Allen’s tone of voice and his implication that Nines was feeling emotion. He was right, but Nines wasn’t going to admit that. “I don’t understand your question.” He settled on, “I am a machine and machines don’t-”

“Spare me that crap,” Allen cut him off, “you don’t have to pretend like you’re okay. Just say the word and we pull the plug on this whole thing.”

There was a momentary silence and Nines actually considered pulling the plug. The gravity of what he was about to do was starting to sink in. He knew that Allen was right and he didn’t  _ have  _ to do any of this. But logic dictated that this would be the fastest way to stopping Nathaniel and putting this whole nightmare behind him.

“Detective?” Allen’s voice had dropped a little.

Nines snapped himself back to attention and for the briefest moment he exposed his deviency, “I need to do this. I have to.”

Allen nodded, “Okay then. At any time you say the safe word, we come in. If you feel uncomfortable or if you can’t handle it, you say it. Remember what it is?”

“Safe word is ‘deviancy’ or any variation of the word deviant,” Nines repeated. He finished wiring himself and tapped the mic.

Allen winced and pressed his finger to his ear piece. “Good, we know it works. Good luck, kid.”

Nines offered a slight nod and got out of the school bus the SWAT team was occupying. He took a shaking breath and ducked into the crowd of people entering the shopping mall.

As much as Nines didn’t want to admit it, Nathaniel’s choice of shopping mall was well planned. There were civilians everywhere. Innocents were perfect collateral and it made controlling the situation easier. Nines scanned the area wondering if he could spot the plants the DPD had placed. It made him uneasy that he couldn’t spot them and in fact, it seemed like everyone around him was a civilian.

Nines wandered around the mall waiting for contact to be made. According to the WR600, he was supposed to meet up with Nathaniel in the food court. Nines found a table where he could sit that gave him a perfect view of both the food court and the lower level of the mall. At the very least, he was sitting in a place where he would be seen and hopefully it lured Nathaniel out into the open.

This plan was a long shot at best considering that they had a location but didn’t know a time. Nines could potentially be sitting in the mall up until closing time. Or days, since it could be a while until he showed up. Nines was a patient android but he wondered how long he could wait before he went crazy. Maybe that was Nathaniel’s game all along. Make Nines wait and wait and wait until he was driven mad and would destroy himself.

“You’re getting twitchy,” Allen’s voice was in his ear, “we can call this off.”

“No!” Nines had to stop himself from shouting out loud, “this is the best option for an arrest. And I am ‘twitchy’ as you say because I am trying to emulate the human behavior of doing nothing. I apologize if that appears unnatural.” He went completely still.

After a moment Allen’s voice was in his ear again, “That’s almost worse but I guess because you’re an android you get away with it.”

Nines resolved himself to stay as still as possible. He did another scan of the area. There was no one in the food court who even remotely matched Nathaniel’s profile. Not only that, Nines wasn’t able to pick out any of the police plants and it was setting him on edge. He had half a mind to actually say something and just demand to know where the plants were. Instead, Nines looked down below and almost jumped in the air.

Nathaniel’s familiar face was looking directly at him with a smirk and a knowing look. The look only lasted a second but it was long enough for Nines to completely freeze. Mentally, he’d been preparing himself for the inevitable but reality was so much harder. 

Nines felt like his throat was closing and his chest constricted. “ _ Deviant, _ ” he told himself and tried to will the words out of his mouth. But they wouldn’t come.

Nathaniel dropped something into a nearby garbage can and walked off. Nines remained glued to his seat and watched the garbage can until the mall reached its closing time and the maintenance workers began to clean the day’s mess. Then, and only then did Nines finally move.

In his ear, he could hear Allen telling him the day was done and to meet them back at the school bus. He gave a short condolence that Nathaniel hadn’t showed up but Nines didn’t pay attention. He was more focused on what that pervert had thrown away. But,  Nines gave his agreement before quickly darting down the escalator and yanking the lid off the trash can.

He dug through until he spotted exactly what Nathaniel had thrown away. A coffee cup filled with tainted thirium, the kind that had effectively knocked him out upon their first meeting, and a disposable cell phone with a note simply stating: read me.

All of Nines judgement told him to report his findings to Captain Allen but Nines hesitated. The phone could be important and clearly it was meant for Nines so maybe it was the key to capturing Nathaniel. The information on the phone might even be time sensitive.

Nines opened the phone and found a preloaded video ready for him to watch. His fingers shook but he played the video.

“I wasn’t sure which one of you it was going to be, but I’m so happy that it was you my sweet Nines. You screamed so much prettier than your deviant brother. And the way you  _ beg  _ just makes me want to wrap my hand around your-.” Nathaniel cut himself off to shut his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, Nines could see the arousal in them. “You know, I was wondering how long it would take for you to see my message and if you would bring the rest of the police with you. Which I assume you did so this is my contingency. Like I said in my previous message, if you come to me, I’ll turn myself in. And, uh, come alone. Because if you don’t, I will send all of these to every broadcast station in Detroit.”

The screen flashed back for a second before video footage of Hank fucking Gavin began playing with Nines and Connor helpless in the background.

“Imagine that,” Nathaniel taunted, “Detroit's best detectives fucking each other plastered all over the news. All your careers will be over.”

Nathaniel’s face disappeared and was replaced with a location that Nines knew very well. It was the scene of the body dump. Right where the whole nightmare had started. Nines ripped out his wire and placed it in a nearby potted plant with the phone.

 

Captain Allen tapped his foot against the school bus floor. It had been too long and Nines was taking forever to get back to the bus.

“Detective Anderson,” he spoke into the mic trying to ignore the feeling in his gut, “what the hell is taking you so long?” No answer. “Fucking hell,” he muttered. “Detective!” Again, there was no answer.

Allen snapped his fingers at a nearby tech, “Show me the surveillance cameras. Locate Detective Anderson.”

“Yes, sir.” The tech’s fingers flew over the keyboard searching each and every camera inside the mall. “Um,” the tech’s eyebrows furrowed, “Sir I have him exiting the mall but then he gets lost in the crowd.”

“Well fucking find him!” Allen barked.

A moment later and the tech was shaking their head. “Sir, I- he’s gone.”

“How the fuck do you lose a six-foot android!?” Allen was already out of the bus barking orders to his men, “Find him! Search everywhere! We are no leaving until Detective Anderson is back on his bus!”

 

“I thought you said he wanted to stay and work,” Gavin scowled looking around the precinct for his boyfriend.

“That’s what he said,” Hank replied searching around for any sign of where his son might be. “Let me ask Jeffery.”

“Well fucking hurry up,” Gavin grumbled, “I already don’t like that he wanted to stay here. And without us.”

“You and me both,” Hank replied back and marched up towards Fowler’s office. He couldn’t explain why, but there was an odd pit in his stomach. Like something bad was happening or was about to happen. He chalked it up to paranoia. Hank didn’t bother to knock on the door and pushed it open.

Fowler saw him and let out a huge sigh, “What do you want, Hank?”

“Looking for my kid, Jeff. He’s not in the bullpen.”

“Of course not,” Fowler answered sourly, “He’s with Allen. You know this.”

Hank’s eyes narrowed, “Why would Nines be with Allen?”

The reality of what had happened struck Fowler and his heart plummeted to his stomach. Nines had lied. “Fuck, fucking hell!” Fowler ran his hands over his head and told Hank the truth. “The WR600 in lockup gave Nines Nathaniel’s location and we ran an op to catch him. Nines offered to use himself as bait.”

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE’S ON AN OP!?” Hank was fucking livid. He didn’t think that anything could make him that mad but here he was; purple faced and screaming at Fowler. “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!?”

“I thought he fucking told you!” Fowler screamed back.

“And you fucking trusted him!?” Hank was pacing the room just about ready to blow someone’s head off. “The boy is fucking traumatized and you just let him go out into the field!? And as fucking bait!?”

“I told him he could go if he had your goddamn approval!”

“You should’ve come to me!”

“I did!”

“After how many fucking hours, Jeffery!?”

Fowler fell silent. Hank was right. He should have gone to Hank the moment that Nines suggested the operation. “Fuck, Hank, I’m sorry. But look, the day’s over and that means they’ll be back any minute now.”

“He better! My boy better be back in this fucking precinct without a goddamn scratch on him because-” The phone rang cutting off Hank.

“WHAT!?” Fowler bellowed into the phone sounding a lot harsher than he intended to. All the color suddenly drained from his face and he hung up. “Fuck.”

“What?” Hank snapped. 

Fowler looked out the glass of his office to Gavin and Connor and then back to Hank. “The op failed and Nines is missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next chapter: Nines & Nathaniel meet face to face and a certain detective gets his memories back (sort of).
> 
> v  
> v  
> v
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been giving me kind words. it really helps with my mood and depression. I find myself rereading all your comments whenever I feel like shit. I'm not giving up on this fic so it'll be completed don't worry about that. But I think after this fic is complete I'm done for a while. By a while, I mean like give me a week to write Amari/Tina smut
> 
> Also if any of you are interested in a smidgen of my personal life: I have some VERY big news coming up in the next month so that'll be awesome I hope.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines swallowed and kept his voice steady, “It’s a detonator.”
> 
> “Yes! It is! And guess who it’s connected to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'm back with this week's update! If y'all will notice, this fic went from 15 chapters to 16 so, yeah. That's a thing.
> 
> Pay attention to the chapter warnings :D If you don't then it ain't my fault.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: rape/non-con, manipulative behavior, self-depreciation

Nines shivered as he felt the cold air rushing in between the shipping containers. Even though he was boxed in, he felt like he was too exposed. Like anyone could come out and see him making probably the worst decision of his life. Why was he being so irrational? Nines could practically hear Connor’s voice inside his head telling him that being being alive was never rational. That decisions could be made based on feelings rather than logic and probability. It fucking sucked.

Nathaniel hadn’t given an exact time on when they were supposed to meet up but based on Nines’ preconstruction, the man was either here or not far behind. But as each minute ticked by, the apprehension began to build until Nines wasn’t sure whether he was shaking because of the cold or because of his anxiety. He was tempted to grab the little blade still hidden in his shoe, but he wasn’t about to risk being seen slicing open his skin by Nathaniel. The man would just gloat and encourage him to keep cutting until he died.

“I’m so happy you came,” Nathaniel’s voice came from behind Nines and the android swirled around fast and ready to fight. However, it was the detonator in Nathaniel’s hand that forced him to stop.

Nathaniel grinned and thumbed the little red button in the same manner that had Nines’ mind flashing back to when he’d been forcibly installed with a vagina. “I’m glad you noticed. And I’m sure you already know what it is.”

Nines swallowed and kept his voice steady, “It’s a detonator.”

“Yes! It is! And guess who it’s connected to?”

_ Who?  _ Nines froze at what the word implicated. There was a bomb and said bomb was connected to someone? Immediately, Nines’ fear took over and his first thought was Connor.

Nathaniel seemed to understand that’s where Nines’ mind went so he simply sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not to your idiot brother. There’s a bomb inside Pauley. Moron.”

Fuck. The WR600 was in custody and based on his prior actions, the android likely knew that there was a bomb inside him. And there was a 90% chance of detonation; either from Nathaniel or from the WR600 himself.

“I love when I can see the gears in your head spinning, metaphorically of course.”

Nines kept a steely gaze on Nathaniel hoping to keep his false air of confidence. “What do you want from me?”

Nathaniel shrugged, “Exactly like I said in my message. I’m turning myself in. But, I want something in return.” 

The man pocketed the detonator and pulled out the tiny little remote that Nines remembered. The one that had caused him so much pain. Instinctively, Nines shrank backwards forgetting that his head was no longer attached with the connecting device.

Nathaniel let out a soft whistle, “I do love Pavlov. Don’t worry about this little thing. It’s just a… let’s call it insurance.” He flipped the “on” switch and Nines detected a frequency jammer signal. “I want you to bend over and let me fuck you one last time. And when I’m satisfied, I’ll turn the jammer off and you can call your cop buddies to arrest me.” He held out the remote to Nines, “Go on. Take it. As a sign of good faith.”

“Give me the detonator instead.”

Nathaniel laughed, “No. I don’t think I will.”

Nines gritted his teeth. He knew that the jammer was a sense of false hope that he could call or reinforcements whenever he needed to but doing so before their… fornication was completed meant that the bomb would go off and kill everyone.

“I don’t want it,” Nines answered and feeling slightly brave enough to put a little bite to his tone, “we both know that you’re-”

“Yes, yes,” Nathaniel waved a hand, “I’m dying to get my cock in you so why don’t you shut up and get on your knees. The faster I get off, the faster you get me in jail. Isn’t that what you want?”

Nines held back a growl of frustration and anger. He hated that Nathaniel had so much power over him. But even more so, Nines hated himself for what he was about to do. In the back of his mind he told himself that he was doing it to save his family and his friends, but it didn’t stop him from feeling dirty about it.

Mechanically, Nines dropped to his knees and reached for the button on Nathaniel’s jeans. He cringed as the man’s hands weaved into his hair and gripped tightly borderlining painful. Nines’ hands trembled against his desperate attempt to keep them steady. He pulled out Nathaniel’s cock which was already hard with a pungent smell.

Nines cracked his mouth open slightly and apparently that was all the invitation that Nathaniel needed because his cock was shoved right to the back of Nines throat. Instinctively, the android choked and tried to push back and get air but Nathaniel was harder and had more leverage. He slammed his hips in Nines’ face so hard that static filled his vision.

Tears streamed down the androids face and he held onto the back of Nathaniel’s legs to try and keep himself grounded. But his current predicament combined with his already fragile state of mind was enough to break him.

Nines whimpered and sobbed while he tried to break away from Nathaniel’s grip. He knew that the strength limiter was gone and he could easily overpower the other but no matter how much he struggled, he wasn’t able to break free. To make everything worse, one of Nathaniel’s feet had shifted to it was pressing right between Nines’ legs providing friction and his body betrayed him.

Above him, Nathaniel was laughing, “Look at that. You’re such a good little slut, you’re getting hard just by letting me fuck your mouth.”

_ “He’s right”,  _ came a traitorous whisper,  _ “if you really didn’t want this, then you wouldn’t be turned on by it.” _

_ “No,”  _ Nines tried to force the whispers away,  _ “I don’t want this. I don’t like this!” _

_ “Oh, but you do. Why else would you be hard? You know that you deserve this. He’s right. You’re just a slut and this is all that you’ll ever be good for. Even Gavin knows what a slut you are. That’s why he’ll never love you. That’s why Hank will never truly see you as his son. Who wants a slut as part of their family?” _

_ “No, It- it’s not true!” _

_ “Of course it is. You know it is. Just look at yourself. You’re getting off on Nathaniel using you and you’re like a dog humping his leg. Just submit and accept what you are.” _

Nines finally felt one of Nathaniel’s hands releasing his hair and the offending cock was removed from his mouth. He was thrown backwards and he landed on the card asphalt.

“Take your clothes off and spread your legs for me like the good little bitch you are.” 

Nathaniel’s dark eyes watched as Nines shook uncontrollably. His hands were grasping for his clothing but he wasn’t able to get a good grip on them which caused him to shake harder and more tears to blind his vision.

“Fucking pathetic. You can’t even strip right.” Nathaniel was at Nines’ side in a second and the android’s clothes were torn off and discarded.

Despite his trembling, Nines didn’t try to fight back as his legs were batted aside like the were mere annoyances and Nathaniel was running his fingers over Nines’ entrance. His eyes were glued to Nines’ boring into his soul and tearing him apart. “Beg for me,” he growled huskily, “beg for me to make you cum.”

Nines had zero intention of begging and it seemed Nathaniel knew it because he gave a gentle stoke to Nines’ opening and slipped a finger inside. Nines whimpered and turned his head away from Nathaniel’s scrutinizing glare.

“Fine,” Nathaniel crooned, “be that way, but I guarantee that I can make you beg for it.” He pushed his finger in as deep as it would go before beginning to move it in and out. Unlike his previous actions, Nathaniel was being gentle and trying to coax an orgasm from Nines. Likely to dig shame into the android and further sink his hold into Nines’ psyche.

Nines felt a second finger slip inside him. The action wasn’t pleasurable but it wasn’t exactly painful either. That was until Nathaniel crooked his fingers in just the right spot. A loud moan slipped from Nines’ lips and his hands flew up to cover his mouth.

“Keep covering your mouth and I’ll push this little button,” Nathaniel threatened with syrup dripping from his voice.

Nines removed his hands from his mouth just as Nathaniel deviously slammed his fingers into that spot and Nines let out a wanton moan. He let out a simultaneous sob with Nathaniel’s grin. The man sped up his pace and abused the spot until Nines was ready to burst. His hand stilled and Nines was gasping for air. He had to stop himself from asking Nathaniel for more. Nathaniel’s cheshire cat like grin spread wider as he slowed his pace enough for the pleasure to keep building but it wasn’t enough for Nines to cum.

“How badly do you want to cum?” Nathaniel whispered with that same syrup.

Nines whined and shook his head. He wasn’t about to give Nathaniel the satisfaction of begging. “ _ Just beg for it, already.”  _ The whisper was back, “ _ Just give in. What are you trying to prove? You’re a slut and everyone knows is. You’re not fooling anyone.” _

Nathaniel twisted his fingers and Nines let out a loud moan. He couldn’t deny that he wanted to cum so badly but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to give this man any more power over him. But if he did beg then it might speed things up and it would be over faster.

“P-please,” Nines whispered barely audible.

Nathaniel grinned and he pressed his fingers into Nines’ pleasure spot hard causing the android’s breath to stutter. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

Nines sobbed and blurted out louder, “Please! Please make me cum!” Laughter filled his ears and Nathaniel obliged. He sped up until Nines’ legs were shaking and his voice was cracking with static.

Nines’ mouth dropped open as his orgasm hit with such force that he was rendered speechless. His body went taught and his hold clenched around Nathaniel’s fingers which didn’t stop moving. Electricity was pouring through him and it wasn’t stopping. The pleasure was becoming too much and he wanted it to stop. Nines tried to form words but all that came out were rivulets of drool and high pitched whines.

Nathaniel removed his fingers and without waiting for Nines to come down from his post-orgasm high, he slid inside quickly finding the spot that turned the android into putty. Too bad he didn’t notice the jammer falling out of his pocket and cracking on the asphalt.

 

Connor disabled his audio receptors. He couldn’t bear to listen to Fowler, Hank, and Gavin yelling obscene things at each other. It had gotten even worse since Captain Allen walked in carrying a burner phone and (presumably) Nines’ wire- which had since been left on Hank’s desk and right were Connor could access them.

He knew four things. One, Nines was missing and with Nathaniel who was doing rA9 knows what. Two, the supposedly responsible humans were yelling at each other and wasting time instead of looking at the evidence that was literally right in front of them. Three, Connor would have to step in an view the evidence. Four, doing so had a 98% probability of finding Nines. And five, there was a 99% chance of Connor having a mental breakdown if he viewed said evidence.  _ “But,”  _ Connor tried to hype himself up, “ _ there is a 1% chance of success and there is always the probability for unlikely scenarios to occur.”  _ Connor steeled himself as best he could. He needed to find Nines and he wasn’t about something so small and insignificant like a mental breakdown gt in the way.*

He grabbed the phone and hooked it up to his monitor. In a few seconds the files were ready to view and Connor took a deep breath.

“Hey, what the hell are you-!?” Connor’s hand was already on his terminal scanning the phone before Hank could reach him. The video of Nathaniel taunting Nines and the replay of Hank and Gavin fucking flashed before his eyes. Anxiety burst from his chest like lava and burned away at his core.

Hank was a split second too late and he watched in horror as Connor’s eyes rolled back into his head and his body seized. He yanked Connor away as fast as he could ignoring the video that had begun to play on the monitor.

“Con! Hey, Connor!’ Hank set Connor on the floor doing his best to ease him on his side. He’s heard that somewhere along with something about not putting things near his mouth. Hank was at a complete loss and had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do. He was very clearly failing as a cop and doing even worse as a father.

“Someone call an ambulance or something!” Hank shouted and caught Gavin’s stare. He wasn’t paying attention to Connor at all. In fact his eyes were glued to the screen. Hank finally looked and saw why Gavin was distracted. It was footage of Hank taking Gavin who looked like he was immense pain. At the very least there was no audio.

“Detective!” Fowler snapped his fingers in front of Gavin’s face and used his body to shield him from the video. “We need to find your partner.” Gavin’s face was deathly pale and he took a step backwards. Then, he bolted out of the station.

“Gavin!” Fowler yelled. “Fuck, fuck!”

“Ambulance is on its way and Doctor Amari’s been informed,” Allen cut in revealing that he’d been on the phone with paramedics since Hank called for them.

Hank didn’t get a chance to say his thanks because suddenly Connor was gripping Hank’s arm in a bruising grip. “WR600, bomb. Nines, location, video.”

Connor went limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Before any of y’all get on me for this: mental trauma isn’t small or insignificant. Connor makes the comment because that’s how he’s viewing himself. This doesn't reflect my personal belief.  
> Also, yeah sorry I don’t know how seizures work/how to deal with it outside of television and google. Feel free to correct me on that kinda stuff (just please don’t be a dick about it).
> 
> Coming up next chapter: More pain and angst. But also some sweet, sweet   ~~justice~~ vengeance.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin grinned and kissed Nines on the nose. “I’m glad I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”
> 
> “What do you mean?”
> 
> “Soft,” Gavin lay against their headboard pulling Nines into his lap, “and gentle. Like a bear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for a bumpy ride. It's all pain and angst with a little dash of happiness in the middle because I'm an asshole :D
> 
> Chapter Warnings: rape/non-con, graphic depictions of violence, genital mutilation

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!!!!” Hank’s head was spinning. There was too much happening all at once. Connor was unconscious on the floor with his only sign of life being a sluggish red LED, Gavin was outside doing God knows what, Nines had walked right into the hands of a fucking psychopath, people were shouting at him, around him and-

“LIEUTENANT ANDERSON!” Fingers snapped in front of Hank’s face. It was Captain Allen. “I can look after Connor and stay with him once the ambulance gets here. You’ve got another kid to worry about. Jeff’s alerted bomb squad-”

“And I’m finding Gavin,” Fowler was already up and moving for the exit.

Hank nodded giving his wordless thanks. As much as it pained him to leave Connor on the floor, Nines needed him. Thinking back, he remembered Connor’s words telling him something about the android in lock up, a bomb, Nines and his location and somehow there was a location.

Where to start? The video. It was already pulled up on Connor’s terminal and paused on Nathaniel’s smug face. Rewinding it, Hank watched in horror as Nathaniel taunted Nines with assuredly false promises to turn himself in. The video file of himself and Gavin were attached but Hank didn’t need to see that. He’d been there wasn’t about to relive that again.

“ _Meet me where you first saw my masterpieces.”_ Nathaniel grinned and gave a seductive wink at the camera that had spiders crawling up Hank’s neck.

“The first crime scene,” Hank concluded and looked at Allen.

“You’re not going alone,” Ben was already geared up and ready to go. “I’ll radio for Wilson and Brown, they’re on patrol in that area.”

“I’ll call in a favor with Captain Cooper and have him sent his unit,” Allen responded whipping out his phone.

“Good,” Hank was running out of the precinct, “Ben, get going. I’m grabbing that jackass from outside!”

 

Hank didn’t have to look far to find Gavin. He was with Fowler on a bench next to the door and smoking what looked to be his third cigarette.

“We found Nines, let’s go,” Hank ordered.

Gavin whipped his head up and Hank felt like his heart was going to explode. It was like the detective had de-aged into his twenties and was that wide-eyed rookie straight out of the academy. His hands were twitching and he looked at Hank like he was a monster.

It pained him to ignore the obvious pain and fear in Gavin’s eyes but, Hank forced himself to stay on mission. “Ben’s in a squad car, we’re meeting him at the first crime scene. Wilson and Brown are already in the area. Allen’s got Cooper and his team on the way.”

“Good, I’ll ride with Ben. Gavin with Hank.” And before Gavin could even protest, Fowler was running toward Ben’s squad car.

Hank ignored Gavin’s jittering until they got into the car and were flying down the streets towards Nines.

“Why?” Gavin’s voice was barely a whisper, “why did you- it wasn’t real right?” Hank was at a loss for words. Luckily for him, Gavin kept talking. “How come I didn’t remember any of that? I- didn’t- I thought… why didn’t you tell me what we did? What he made us do?”

“I’m sorry,” Hank tired to offer. A petty apology wouldn’t do anything for Gavin, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do. “I- I don’t know what to say. I thought maybe if I didn’t tell you then you would never remember what… what I did to you. What kind of a monster I am. I thought I could protect you.”

Gavin looked at Hank, “You- you think this is _your_ fault?”

“Who the fuck else’s fault would it be? Gavin, I- I raped you. You were begging me to stop and I didn’t.” Hank resisted the urge to snap at him, “I’m your superior, I should’ve been able to protect you! To tell that bastard off and rip his throat out but instead I-”

Gavin cut him off and blurted out fast, “Did you _want_ to fuck me?”

Hank nearly swerved the car, “ _Excuse me?”_

“You heard me,” Gavin’s voice was challenging but there was an underlying waver, “Did you want to fuck me?”

“No, of course not! Gavin, I would never intentionally hurt you!”

“I know that!” Gavin took a deep breath, “Fuck. Hank, look, I’m not okay. Alright. I’m not okay with any of this whole fucking situation. And yeah, it’s kinda hard to be in the same space with you right now because all I can remember is- is what happened between us but- but I know this wasn’t our faults. You didn’t want to fuck me and I didn’t want to get fucked by you. So in my book that means we were both… we were both raped. So don’t… don’t fucking blame yourself and I won’t blame myself. It was a fucked up thing we got into and now we just gotta deal with it. I just…. I just don’t wanna deal with it by myself, okay?” Gavin was breathing heavily as the words kept flowing out of his mouth, “You wanna protect me so bad don’t make me do this on my own. I don’t want to pretend like it didn’t happen because it fucking did and I can’t pretend to be okay.” Gavin let out a shaking breath and he looked at Hank helplessly.

Hank nodded his agreement doing his best to blink tears out of his eyes. “Yeah,” he finally managed to croak out, “we’re gonna do this together kid.”

Gavin turned his head to look out the window. “Good,” his voice cracked too.

In an effort to make the mood a little bit lighter, “So I guess Nines actually convinced you to see a therapist.”

“Ha ha, fuck you at least I go to mine.” Gavin turned away from the window and out of the corner of his eye, Hank saw Gavin with a small smile.

“Fair enough.”

“You know, I don’t need protecting all the time,” Gavin finally replied in his usual sour tone, “I’m not your son.” There was a brief pause and then, “Unless my idiot boyfriend makes me take his last name.”

Hank let out a brief huff of laughter, “Then you’re really stuck with me.”

 

Nines tried his best to ignore the obscene squelching noise as Nathaniel thrust into him. He just wanted this whole thing to be over. He did his best not to think about the offending warmth building inside him as his traitorous body reacted positively to the stimulation. Not thinking however, was extremely difficult when Nathaniel kept grunting and telling Nines how good he felt.

“Good boy,” Nathaniel whispered leaning over Nines and sucking the side of his neck, “you’re such a perfect, _obedient,_ little slut aren’t you?” He punctuated his words with a particularly hard thrust and Nines felt one of his internal tubings break loose.

Warning flooded his HUD informing Nines that one of his ‘veins’ had burst causing thirium to flood his internal systems and exit his body via his rectal cavity. Which was currently being violated by Nathaniel.

“Oh fuck,” the man’s labored breathing was dusted with laughter when he saw his dick coated in Nines blood, “fuck that’s so hot.” Nathaniel pulled out and unceremoniously shoved two fingers in the androids ass. He withdrew them and to Nines’ horror stuck them in his mouth. As gesture that Nines was never going to be able to scrub from his memory.

Rough hands grabbed at Nines’ thighs forcing his legs up and over Nathaniel’s shoulders. What happened next had Nines wailing in hateful pleasure. He despised himself for feeling good and moaning for Nathaniel’s tongue in his ass.

 

Gavin had done this to him once- before all of this. It was their anniversary and Nines had wanted to show Gavin that he could experience intimacy too. At first, Gavin hadn’t understood how since Nines didn’t have genitalia.

“I can show you,” Nines had said in a moment of complete moment of trust and vulnerability

Gavin gripped Nines’ wrist gently, “Babe, I don’t want you to think that all I care about is sex. I don’t. I care about you and what you want.”

“I’m consenting to this.”

“But do you _want_ this?”   
“Yes,” Nines nodded, “Yes. I want this. I want you. So please, let me show you.”

Gavin grinned and kissed Nines on the nose. “I’m glad I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Soft,” Gavin lay against their headboard pulling Nines into his lap, “and gentle. Like a bear.”

Nines cocked his head as his LED spun yellow looking up what Gavin meant by bear. He furrowed his brow in confusion at the results. “Gavin, I am not a husky or large, nor do I have body hair aside from my head.”

“What?”

“You described me as a bear. And it confuses me that you would use this term. If anything, that would describe Hank. Although, I-”  
“WOAH!” Gavin laughed, “No, babe stop. For one, that’s not the type of bear I was describing and secondly, I meant that you’re a teddy bear.”

“I still do not understand your metaphor.”

“It means I love you tin can,” Gavin snorted and captured Nines’ lips in a loving kiss. “Now, weren’t you about to show me your naughty bits?”

“I do not have ‘naughty bits’ as you put it, but I did promise I would show you how I experience intimacy.” In all actuality, Nines had spent countless shameful hours on the internet trying to figure out how to experience sexual pleasure without genitalia. The only answer he got was wireplay (which sounded dangerous and Nines really didn’t want to dip into that territory), turning up sensitivity, and experimentation.

Nines backed off Gavin’s legs and shimmied out of his sweatpants the best he could and stole a glance at Gavin who was watching intently. It did help that Gavin was already naked and Nines’ shirt had long been abandoned. Taking a deep breath, Nines removed his boxers and discarded them over the side of the bed.

There was a long moment of silence and Nines recognized the twinge in his chest as discomfort and self consciousness. He was ready to leap over the edge of the bed and put his clothes back on but Gavin moved and grabbed at Nines’ hands.

“Sorry,” he whispered, “I didn’t mean to stare and make it weird it’s just that… you’re so fucking gorgeous.” Gavin looked up at Nines with all the love in the world, “You’re fucking amazing, you know that, babe?”

“You took too long to speak,” Nines grumbled but allowed himself to be pulled down for a kiss. He was ready to sit back on Gavin’s thighs, but Gavin didn’t let him.

“How does this work?” he asked, “Can you feel things here?”

Nines nodded, “I turned up my sensitivity. I do not have genitals but the necessary connection ports are there.”

Gavin grinned and shifted his hands from Nines’ hands to the backs of his thighs. “Scooch back a little, I wanna try something.”

Nines did as he was told curious about what Gavin was about to do. Gavin leaned forward as his android leaned back. His warm breath ghosted over the flat space between Nines’ legs making the RK900 shiver.

“Ready?” Gavin asked.

Nines nodded unsure about what he was supposed to be ready for. Gavin smiled and pressed his tongue against the space. Sparks flew into Nines’ vision and he let out a sound he didn’t even know he was capable of producing.

_“G-Gavin!”_

“Rude.” Nathaniel pulled his mouth away from Nines. “I’m going out of my fucking way to make you feel good and you’re calling out someone else’s name?”

Nines had a split second to react because Nathaniel had snapped and was on top him pummeling him with fists. “You stupid fucking cunt! You’re not even fucking grateful to me!?” He grabbed Nines by the hair and slammed him into the ground. Nines felt a crack and blood leaking out.

Static filled his ears and he screamed for the first time. Radio waves from everywhere were bombarding his system but the one that cut through most clearly was the police broadband announcing that Hank and Gavin were on their way to save him. Relief and fear filled Nines. This was over. It was going to be over soon.

“Yes,” Nathaniel leaned over Nines  and shoved his cock inside the android, “It is almost over. You’re going to fucking pay for what you’ve done you ungrateful slut!” Before Nines could move or think or take another breath there was a knife between his legs followed by blinding pain. He screeched and trashed with renewed energy fueled by fear and pain. The offending biocomponent he’d been installed with was now in Nathaniel’s hand.

“This is going to be my favorite trophy.” Nathaniel reached for Nines’ thirium pump and Nines felt his stress levels skyrocketing into 100%. It felt like time slowed and something within him had clicked. He didn’t want this and didn’t want this man on top of him. He saw Nathaniel’s eyes wild with power and lust. He felt his thirium pump halfway out of his chest. Beside him, he saw a broken bottle and knew what he needed to do. Time came back in a rush.

Nines grabbed the broken bottle and slammed it into the side of Nathaniel’s face. He roughly latched his thirium pump back into place and climbed on top of his assailant.

Nathaniel made a grab for Nines and the bottle but Nines was faster. He brought the bottle down again and again and again not caring where the sharp edges stuck as long as Nathaniel wasn’t hurting him anymore.

 

Hank, Gavin, Fowler, and Ben pulled into the shipyard parking lot to see Wilson and Brown already waiting for them. “What haven’t you gone in yet!?” Hank barked at them.

“It’s too big for us to cover ourselves,” Wilson retorted, “we need backup.”

An ear piercing scream that sounded exactly like Nines cut through the night and Hank took off running with Gavin close behind him. Hank prayed with everything he had in him that they would get there in time.

Nines screaming hadn’t stopped which provided Hank with a perfect path to locating his son. His gun was drawn and ready to shoot Nathaniel between the eyes for hurting his sons. Hank rounded a corner and his heart was shattered into pieces.

Nines was naked, covered in blood, and using a broken bottle to stab at Nathaniel’s corpse. From what he could see, the face was completely mangled and there would be nothing left for any kind of facial reconstruction. His poor son was screaming and sobbing completely unaware of anything that was happening.

“Fuck!” Gavin ran to Nines as fast as he could, ignoring the fact that his partner might be too freaked out to realize that Gavin wasn’t going to hurt him. “Nines!” he shouted. Nines panicked and swung the bottle shard backwards. Gavin barely managed to dodge it and he grabbed Nines tightly.

“NO!” Nines screeched with terror in a voice so unlike his own, “No! Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!”

Gavin’s arms around Nines tightened and he managed to wrestle the broken bottle from Nines’ bloody hands. The android screamed and struggled with renewed vigor; fighting for his life.

“No! Help! Dad! Let go of me!”

Hank’s eyes went wide at the realization that Nines had just called him ‘dad’ and the implication of Nines being deviant. Hank bolted over to Nines yanking off his jacket and throwing it around Nines. “Son it’s me, it’s Dad! I’m here, you’re safe now.”

The jacket seemed to do the trick because Nines buried his face in the part that was closest to his face, stopped struggling, and outright bawled.

Hank placed a gentle hand nearby the jacket too afraid to touch Nines in fear that he would slip and start screaming again. Instead Nines blinked and only seemed to see Hank. Nines opened his mouth as if to speak but only more wails of anguish came.

Gavin relinquished his hold on Nines and the android all but launched himself into Hank’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo Boy! That was a WILD fucking ride! There's one chapter left in this mother fucker so I hope y'all stick around for it!
> 
> BTW I'm so sorry to all of you who thought the genital mutilation warning was for Nathaniel...... and for the extremely misleading chapter summary
> 
> Coming up next chapter: We check up on Connor, Tina, Amari & Co., and finally some fucking communication and healing
> 
>  
> 
> On an entirely different/personal note if anyone has advice on how to help anyone with IV Cancer, that would be most appreciated <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next twenty-four hours were the most stressful hours of Hank’s life and he swore at some point he was just going to have a heart attack and flat out fucking die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! I actually made it this week! I know I promised the last update would be next week, but hey here it is :D
> 
> Holy shit this fic is over and what a fucking ride it's been. I hope y'all enjoy the last bits of angst and a (hopefully) happy ending. Enjoy!
> 
> Chapter warnings: panic attacks

The next twenty-four hours were the most stressful hours of Hank’s life and he swore at some point he was just going to have a heart attack and flat out fucking die. The worst part of it all was the waiting. Waiting in the too white walls of the hospital smelling the same antiseptic smell and listening to the wretched beeps of monitors or the soft cries of other people.

It didn’t help that right at this very moment, Elijah fucking Kamski waltzed through the hospital doors. Hank had half a mind to punch the self-righteous son of a bitch with a god complex in his smug punchable face for the whole almost killing Chloe incident. He would have except for that Gavin intercepted and Hank watched in acute horror as the billionaire hugged Gavin.

“What the fuck is happening?” Hank snapped ignoring the dirty looks all the nurses gave him for swearing.

“Lieutenant Anderson,” Kamski greeted smoothly.

“Hank,” Gavin grumbled and stuck his thumb out at Kamski, “I called him ‘cause the bastard owes me a favor.”

Kamski pursed his lips but it was clear he was relishing in Gavin’s clear discomfort, “This bastard doesn’t owe you any favors. It’s called being a good brother. Not that you care.”

“I’m adopted,” Gavin answered flatly.

“No you’re fucking not. Stop saying that.”

“Fine okay, maybe I’m not. But I wish I was.”

“You’re just jealous. I did offer you-”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Hank interrupted before anything could escalate further. “You can both go fuck yourselves once my boys are taken care of.” He turned to Gavin, “That is what he’s here for isn’t it?” Gavin simply nodded. Hank gave a pointed glare at Kamski who remained as nonchalant as ever. He waltzed to a nurse who directed him towards Connor and Nines’ direction.

 

“Isn’t that Elijah Kamski?”

Hank and Gavin turned around to see Captain Allen approaching them with two fresh cups of coffee straight from the hospital’s cafeteria.

“Yeah,” Gavin grumbled, “fucking asshole.”

Allen cocked his head at Hank passing the pair their coffees but didn’t say anything. “Any word on the boys?”

Hank shook his head, “Not yet… you have an update on the bomb? I didn’t hear or see an explosion so I’m guessing it went well?”

“Yeah,” Allen sighed deeply, “that was a fucking shit show. A soon as bomb squad entered the room, the android fucking self destructed and forced the timer into a sixty second countdown. For a second, I actually thought we were all going to fucking blow up.”

“You’ve been in worse situations,” Hank pointed out.

“A bomb is different than a lunatic with a gun. I can survive a gunshot. Bombs are different.”

Hank shrugged, “Fair.” Silence fell for awhile and Hank wished that Allen would keep talking. The man wasn’t very talkative (hostage situations aside) and it was not working in his favor at the moment. He needed something else to concentrate on besides the worry gnawing at him from the inside out.

“They’re going to be okay,” Allen’s voice cut into Hank’s thoughts and he turned to see Allen. However, the SWAT captain wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at Gavin who’d crushed his cup spilling black coffee onto the floor.

Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Before Hank knew it, Gavin was on his knees having a full blown panic attack.

Gavin felt like this chest was either going to explode or implode there was no in between. Everything that had just happened was catching up to him all at once and it was too much for him to handle. His brain kept swimming in the possibilities of losing Nines to this psycho. Not physically, that was impossible now, but emotionally and mentally. Gavin couldn’t stand the idea of Nines never feeling safe again, or never wanting to be touched or hugged especially since before everything happened Nines was such a big cuddler. What if Nines never felt safe anymore? What if his stress levels got so high he self destructed? What if Gavin lost Nines?

“-eathe,” someone was saying to him but Gavin couldn’t concentrate. Nines was the only one on his mind and that fucking pervert’s face filled his brain. Memories were starting to take over and Gavin could just  _ hear  _ Nines crying and begging while they were trapped in that fucking basement.

“Count,” the voice said again and Gavin was confused. Count? What the fuck was he supposed to count? Numbers or blind faith? Blind faith. In who? God? rA9? Fucking hell, Elijah? Numbers then. From what? From where?

“-with me,” the voice had a gravel to it and there were only two people nearby. Hank and Allen. It had to be one of them.

“Ten,” the voice started, “Gavin count with me.”

Gavin shivered and tried to find his voice. “T-ten,” he managed to croak out.

“Nine,” the voice encouraged.

“Ni-Nine,” Gavin continued, “Nine.”

“Good, eight.”

“Eight… eights… Connor,” Gavin tried to focus on the numbers, “Eight.”

“Keep going, seven.”

“Seven,” Gavin repeated.

“Good, six.”

“Six,” Gavin breathed out a shaking breath.

The voice counted down again and Gavin was able to identify the source as Allen. “Five.”

“Five.”

“You’re doing well, four.”

“Fucking four,” Gavin couldn’t resist the swear it made him breathe a little easier. “Three,” he continued without being prompted, “Two… one.”

The world came back into focus. His heart was still racing but at least he felt more in control.

 

The next few hours went by in a messy blur. Allen had to leave to check on his cat (who fucking knew?) but Fowler had dropped by with food for Gavin and hank before leaving because quote, “his wife was going to eat him alive if he was late for date night again”. Another hour flew by before Elijah glided out of the hospital doors and up to the pair.

“I’m done,” Elijah said passing Hank and Gavin, “Repaired their systems and did a full replacement of damaged biocomponents, etc.”

Hank let out the breath he’d been holding, “What happened to Connor? He was having a seizure when he just passed out.”

Kamski looked like he was about to say something condescending but apparently decided against it. “He forced himself into stasis at a 99% stress level which is undoubtedly what cause the… seizure. There was already so much strain on his system that when he went into stasis it caused a glitch in his brain thus affecting the rest of his body. I manually reset his stress levels so he should be alright once he wakes up.”

“You can’t just fucking wake him up now?” Gavin demanded.

Elijah narrowed his eyes at Gavin, “You should know that answer. But no. He’s on a timer for another hour.”

Hank nodded glad that Connor was at least safe for now, “And Nines?”

“Cosmetic damage mostly. But I did repair his internal systems as well. He should consider a memory wipe. Whoever did work on them was smart but not as smart as me. Their work was impressive though. Adding a- FUCK!” Blood gushed from the billionaire’s nose.

Gavin’s face was bright red with anger and reeled his fist back for another punch to his brother’s face. Hank caught Gavin’s fist before it could connect. “Hey! Cut it out! I want to punch the smug dick just like you do but the last thing we need right now is a fight.” He glared at Elijah. “Thank you. But get the fuck out.”

Elijah didn’t need to be told twice. He flipped the bird at Gavin before fucking right off. A moment later and a text on Gavin’s phone read:  _ You owe me a new nose dipshit. _

Doctor Amari came out in time to see Gavin wiping his bloody fist on his jacket. “What happened here?” she demanded.

“Nothing important,” Gavin grumbled. “Can we see them now?”

“Hank can see them now,” Amari replied and held her hand up before Gavin could offer a protest. “Hospital policy. One that I intend to keep intact. You are in my territory now and you will obey. Hank is their father and Gavin unless you’ve got a wedding ring on your finger you don’t legally count as family yet. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to wait.”

Gavin bristled turning red, “That’s fucking bullshit!”

“What did I say about obeying me?” Amari gave Gavin a sharp glare before softening her expression, “Tina is still here and she tells me going to go crazy without some company.”

“Fine,” he grumbled and then turned to Hank, “You better tell me what the fuck is happening.”

Hank nodded, “I will.”

Satisfied, Amari pointed Gavin in the direction of Tina’s room before leading Hank away to see Nines and Connor.

 

Nines awoke alone. Alone and in a hospital bed surrounded by a curtain that felt more like a coffin. Before all of the shit he’d gone through, Nines used to find the sterile environment comforting in a way. The absence of germs and filth was soothing and the steady mechanical beeping of the hospital systems set his own at ease. But now Nines felt the opposite. The mechanical beeping was too loud and too hash. The sterile smell made him sick and it felt like he was the dirty one. That the only reason the room needed to smell clean was because he wasn’t. He was the germ that needed to be eradicated.

He shifted in the bed trying to get comfortable and maybe force himself into stasis. It was then that he noticed something different. A quick scan of himself confirmed it. His systems were fully clear of the damage that Nathaniel had done. But it wasn’t just that either.

Nines felt the lack of an offending appendage between his legs and gingerly reached down to feel the brand new smooth plating. He winced. Even his own hand felt foreign and sharp stab of terror struck him. As much as Nines was relieved to have a blank plate, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that someone had to touch him  _ there  _ in order to do so.

Phantom hands were reaching for him and each one felt like it was connected to Nathaniel. He felt the hands reaching into his chest and crushing his lungs and stealing the air from his lips. Nines reached up to try and yank the invisible hands away but they grasped at nothing. He was dying; someone was killing him and he couldn’t even fight back.

“Nines!?” A gruff voice was calling for him but he couldn’t pinpoint who it belonged to. There was too much blood rushing through his hears and the sound of his own gasps for air were deafening.

“Hang on, son, you’re okay!”

_ Son?  _ Who called him ‘son’? Hank did. Hank called him son. Hank called him son because Hank was Dad. Dad was here. Dad was safe.

“D-ad?” Nines croaked out trying to focus his blurry vision on Hank.

“Yeah,” Hank’s arms were just within reach, “I’m here. I’m here.”

“H-an-hands,” Nines rasped reaching for Hank. He needed Nathaniel’s hands off of him; away from him. He wanted the hands to stop killing him. He needed Hank to get rid of them. “It hurts!”

Hank was at a complete loss at what to do so he did the one thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around Nines and hugged him as tightly as he could.

The hands disappeared with the pressure caused by Hank’s weighty hug. For the first time in what felt like forever, Nines felt decently okay. Hank was the shield he needed blocking out the bad feelings and muting the pain.

 

Gavin had every intention of disobeying Amari’s orders. Fucking of course he was. Nines was in important and the hospital could stick their instructions up their fucking asses and get fucked by a cactus. But, he did also need to see Tina. As her best friend yes, but also because she was his partner in crime and was going to use her to find Nines. Which he knew that she would agree to.

“Knock knock bitch,” Gavin greeted walking into Tina’s room like he owned the place.

Tina flipped him off with a smile, “I thought you were with Nines?”

Gavin shook his head, “No, that’s what I need you for.”

Tina’s smile fell a little as she saw the blood on his hand, “What happened?”

“My fucking brother is what happened. I called him for a favor and his God complex had to make an appearance. But from what he said, Nines and Con are going to be fine. Physically anyway.”

“So why are you here bothering me instead of your boyfriend?”

Gavin swallowed and peeked out the door to make sure that Amari was nowhere near to hear him. “Because your fucking wife said I wasn’t family.” 

Tina glowered at him. “No she fucking did not.”

“Okay fine,” Gavin snapped, “she said legally I’m not family so I can’t until later. But I want to see him now.”

“There’s a wheelchair in the bathroom, grab it and make it look convincing.” Gavin grinned. Tina truly was his partner in crime.

 

“Ow, you fuck turd, go slow,” Tina hissed. Gavin had just nicked her leg against a corner as the descended the hall. Tina had her head hung down and hair in front of her face to keep her from being recognized. Considering that her wife was the head doctor, it made sense that Tina was the most well known patient in the entire hospital. 

“I’d go slow,” Gavin growled back, “if you weren’t so fucking suspicious looking.”

“I’m suspicious?” Tina snickered back, “you’re the one who looks like a crazed lunatic kidnapping a patient in a wheelchair. Oh, turn here.”

Gavin pushed Tina with a little more force than necessary. “Bitch,” she reached up and pinched his hand. “Last room on the right,” she ordered.

Gavin had to forcibly keep himself from ditching Tina in the hallway and just running to Nines. But at the same time he was terrified of what was going to happen. What he would find, rather  _ who  _ he was going to find.

“Gav?” Tina looked up at Gavin who’d frozen just outside the door. Gavin looked down at Tina with water filled eyes and she took his hand in hers. “It’s going to be okay. Not right now, not when you walk through that door, not even a week from now. But it will be. I know that everything is different and everything is scary and it’s something to work thought. But you’ll work though it. We all will. Nines included. Okay? But the first step is to go through that door and let Nines know that no matter what you’re going to be there for him.”

Gavin nodded, “I love you Tina.”

She smiled back at him, “I love you too you fucking nerd. Now wheel me inside so you can see your boyfriend and we can stop looking suspicious.” The detective let out a huff of laughter and wheeled Tina inside shutting the door behind them.

Gavin wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting to see when he walked into the room, but the sight of Nines clinging to Hank and sobbing was not it. The sound cracked Gavin’s heart and Nines’ broken soul shattered it.

He took a shaking step forward and thought better of it. Nines was in distress and he wasn’t sure if he wanted Gavin. And at the moment, Hank was fulfilling fatherly duties so Gavin felt disrupting the moment was wrong. Instead, he sidestepped them and dipped behind the other curtain to find Connor in stasis. Shucking his jacket, he draped it over the other android and sat by his bedside. At the very least, if he woke up anytime soon then he wouldn’t be alone.

Amari found them ten minutes later and promptly kicked Gavin and Tina out.

 

\---

 

Coming home from the hospital a second time somehow felt worse than the first time. Nines knew that Nathaniel was gone and that there was no one that could come after them but the paranoia was still there. Not just that though. He was facing the fact that this was the  _ second  _ time. Meaning, he hadn’t been smart enough to avoid getting hurt the first time and he was stupid enough to let himself get hurt a second time.

He shuffled into his room as fast as he could blocking out Sumo’s whines at being ignored. It didn’t matter for long because the fluffy dog was then occupied with Connor’s hands in his fur.

The older RK had been uncomfortably silent since waking up from the hospital. His stress levels remained at a steady 80% neither rising nor dropping. Nines had no idea what that meant; if Connor was okay or not. The likelihood of Connor not being okay was marginally higher.

Nines crashed onto his bed and curled up under the covers. When Hank had told him that Elijah Kamski was the one who had repaired Nines, there was a spike of anxiety. First, he was afraid that the billionaire had done something to him but after learning it was Gavin who demanded his help, he relaxed a little. It was still off putting that Elijah had seen fit to repair is genital region, but Nines was too grateful to care.

After some silence in the house, nines turned up his audio receptors. Hank hadn’t entered his room, nor had there been any noise coming from the kitchen. A muffled sound came from the living room and Nines knew that it was the sound of Connor crying into Sumo’s fur and Hank’s soft voice telling him that it wasn’t his fault. Nines felt fucking horrible. Of course it wasn’t Connor’s fault. None of it was. It was his. He knew, that if he’d been more alert, fought harder, recognized that Nathaniel was bad news, not taken the fucking drink, and been able to protect Hank and Gavin and Connor then none of this would have ever happened.

Nines got up from his bed and padded silently to the living room. Hank had his arms wrapped around Connor with Sumo’s massive face on the android’s lap.

“I’m sorry,” Nines blurted out.

Connor and Hank both looked towards Nines who stood in the hallway with his arms wrapped around himself.

“I’m sorry,” Nines repeated again, “This is all my fault.”

“No,” Hank stood and Sumo took the opportunity to occupy the space and smother Connor with his fur. “This is  _ not  _ your fault Nines. None of this is.”

“But I should have been faster. I should have noticed-”

Hank shook his head and moved towards Nines reaching out for him but Nines stepped back.

“You don’t understand,” Nines forced out in a harsh whisper, “I went to him. I was an idiot and I-”

Hank placed a firm grip onto Nines’ shoulder, “Listen to me son. You are not an idiot. You did what you thought was the best decision. No one is blaming you and this is not your fault.”

“But it had to be,” Nines whispered.

Hank pulled Nines into a hug, “I know everything seems simple in hindsight, but there are a million different possibilities on how this could’ve gone. You cannot blame yourself for something that was set in motion long before you were involved. You can’t control what happens or what other people do. You did your best and you survived. That’s all that matter now. You being being here. Connor being here. None of this is on you, son.”

Nines felt his resolve cracking. He’d been so sure that all of this was his fault and that Connor had suffered because of him. Gavin and Hank had been forced in a precarious situation because of him. And hearing Hank say that it wasn’t his fault… that he couldn’t control what was going to happen… it was both a breath of air and a wildly terrifying concept.

Nines took a deep breath and finally hugged Hank back, “Dad?” He whispered his voice cracking as he did.

“I-” Nines choked on the tears that rushed into his eyes, “I’m not- I’m not okay.” The tears fell and Nines tried to say more but no words would come out.

Hank didn’t say anything either. He just pulled Nines in close and held him. “I know son,” he finally replied, “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it didn't exactly have a super happy ending but I hope at least it gave some kind of closure to the fic. There's so much that goes into recovery and I didn't want a "fix all" ending. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed it and I want to thank everyone who's stuck with me through all of this! I love all of you so much and y'all kept me motivated to keep writing <3 so thank you so very much!!!
> 
> And as I promised here is the [Link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18351848) to the Tina/Amari fic. And no worries lol, it's actually a happy fic.

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be two chapters but it just became one big one. I plan on updating weekly (or more if I'm able to). Let me know if you want to read more!


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